The Masks I Wear
by Twilights Herald
Summary: For her entire life, Amamiya Rei had to fight for everything, even to be called by her real name. The first time she picked a fight she couldn't win, she found everything spiraling out of control. A year in exile away from everything she knew. But forces beyond her control were set to play an age-old game, and before the end not just Rei, but the entire world would know ruin.
1. Chapter 1

" _I am a girl who loves my island, and a girl who loves the sea."_ The girl sang along to her phone playing the song for the tenth time that day. She had literally nothing else to do, and wouldn't until the preparations were complete. She was only wearing the sweatpants, T-shirt, and hoodie she had come to this place in - other clothing had been provided, but nothing fancy was available to her. She had been told that if her current situation extended, they'd look into some variety, but she couldn't expect much.

 _Oh well. I'm used to living out of a suitcase,_ she thought. _Any minute now..._

Her singing was interrupted by a short cough, and she looked up, startled, before looking down at the papers being slid in front of her. They were written in Dutch, a language that she had spent the past several months trying, with only limited success, to learn to speak. Her reading comprehension was much better, but this was still several years beyond her. "I suppose I have no choice but to trust you on this. They won't be as good as physical copies, of course, but I have permission to take pictures of these and transmit them out of the embassy?"

"To anywhere you like," The older, distinguished looking gentleman confirmed. They were both speaking Japanese - the girl's native language. The room they were in had the elegant wood paneling of the rest of the embassy's public areas. The desk was fine oak - antique, the girl had been assured, shipped up from Nagasaki straight from the original embassy grounds there. "Once you sign these, your safety is technically my responsibility, although it is a duty I will almost certainly delegate. You are not the _only_ thing going on in the world, young Miss. Even though one might be tempted to believe otherwise, if they were restricted to the Japanese media."

The girl laughed. "Teenagers are _supposed_ to think we're the center of the universe. I'm just a bit closer than most." She hesitated, just a moment longer, and then signed in hesitant Latin characters. "So, what happens next, Ambassador?"

"Your debriefing," The Ambassador said. "As I said, most of this will be handled by my subordinates, but if you don't mind I'd like to go over the first part myself. As it will be key to explaining the decision to grant a Japanese national asylum, I expect I'll need to be personally familiar with the details of your . . . early career."

The girl scoffed. "You mean 'why I felt it necessary to take up a life of thought crime?'"

"That, among other things." The Ambassador chuckled. "I admit I'm intensely curious. How is it possible to actually steal a person's heart?"

The girl closed her eyes. "Okay, so, since the full explanation for that and why I decided it was...the best thing to do are pretty connected, and you really need both, why don't I just tell you what happened from the beginning? I assume this room's bugged within an inch of its' life, so once we get through April you can pass me off to a subordinate and review the footage yourself."

"Most perceptive!" The Ambassador actually laughed. "Splendid. Truly worthy of the master thief you claim to be."

The girl grinned broadly. "Welp, that's why I'm getting this sweetheart deal, isn't it? Stealing hearts for Crown and Country in exchange for not ending up in a cell in my homeland?" Rei held up her hand. "I already said not to get your hopes up in that regard, It's a joke. This is still valuable, in the sense of knowing what we're looking for in the future if it happens again. I _really_ hope it doesn't, though. We got entirely too close to the end for comfort a few weeks ago."

A nod. "Indeed. Why not begin with your arrival in Tokyo, Miss…"

* * *

Amamiya Rei struggled to get her two suitcases up the stairs of LeBlanc Cafe to the 'apartment' that was to be her new home for the next year. She didn't really pay attention to her surroundings as she found herself needing to kick the first suitcase out of the way to make room for the second. "It's amazing what you can boil a life down to," she commented, albeit to no one. "Ugh, I'd better get ready for bed…" she said again, flipping the lights on and looking around the room. "...once I find it. This place is a dump!"

That was probably a generous assessment. The whole place was illuminated by bare bulbs hanging on wires from the ceiling. Piled up in one corner were a bunch of cardboard boxes, which were either opened or had never been sealed, containing...well, Rei didn't know what and she didn't really want to. It was the owner's stuff, and Seijiro Sakura was welcome to it. She'd give it back to him when she cleaned the place up, as she would inevitably have to do.

Her eyes moved next to the giant, overflowing bookshelf, which she only identified as such because some books peeked out from under the cover of a canvas tarp. Next to that there were some gas cans, an old plant that was in desperate need of some life support, and a ladder left carelessly on the floor.

She saw an old loveseat that had probably once been down in the cafe, but had clearly seen better days and was now retired. Some shelves held enough rice for the shop for several weeks, dry spices, and other things Sojiro would obviously need to run the business. "Fuck, can't a girl even get any privacy!?" she shouted to no one, her voice's sweet alto somewhat ruined by the anger in it. Then she relaxed, noticing the narrow bed in the corner. It, at least, looked clean.

Since the cafe had once been a small house, there was supposedly a shower in the basement. Western-style, but at least she had all the facilities she'd need. It was early spring, and the cold of the winter hadn't quite fled this attic. Still, she'd at least planned for that. She'd need to set up full curtains around the storage area, but for tonight just setting a super-early alarm would have to do.

Throwing open her suitcase, she pulled out a suitable set of pajamas and headed down to the shower. Somewhat surprisingly, it was actually clean to the point of sparkling. "I guess Health Services actually cares about this one," she said, again out loud despite no one being able to hear her. It was set next to the larger ice box, so she supposed Soujiro actually did need to keep up appearances. Regardless, she set the no-brand toiletries she had managed to bring along on the shelf in the shower and quickly rinsed off. She'd need to do it again in the morning before going to school, but for right now, she just needed to deal with the stress and sweat of travel on the trains halfway across the country in a day.

When she was done, she pulled on her panties, being careful to avoid looking down or into the mirror until she was done. Her frame was slim, and she noticed that her bustline seemed a little bigger, although it was still relatively tiny compared to most of her old classmates. Her waist was definitely slimmer, though, and while she'd not qualify as an 'hourglass figure' by any stretch of the imagination, she was at least not unattractive. She'd need to do real measurements for the records, but that could wait until after she'd unpacked. Putting on her glasses over her slate-gray eyes, she noted that, while she'd had to cut her hair short per the new school's rules, the cut she'd managed was at least reasonably attractive, falling straight down the sides of her round face. She let one strand flip down in front of an eye, and sighed. _They're gonna make me change it, I just know it._

Getting dressed, she headed back upstairs and laid down on the bed, which, again, surprised her by being reasonably soft and comfortable. _What's with that old guy anyway…_ she thought as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

When she woke up, she wasn't in the same bed. The new one was harder, like she had imagined prison beds were like. She slowly blinked her eyes open and found herself in a room ablaze with a blue light so bright, she mistook it for white for a moment. It took Rei a moment to understand what she was looking at, and with a slowly growing sense of dread, she reached up and pushed against the soft, padded wall. That was when she realized her entire arm, no, both arms, were covered in a coat of a coarse material festooned with straps and buckles. "N-no...no…"

"Ah, welcome, Trickster," Rei spun around, only to realize that her cell had an open-barred door rather than the heavy steel of a modern mental institution. Even more odd, though, was the view out of the cell seemed to be directly into an office. Two small girls, blond, and wearing eyepatches and the cleaner white coats of orderlies, stood side-by-side. The deep voice that had spoken didn't belong to them.

Instead, it clearly belonged to the man behind the desk. He was old, with a bald head and long white hair around it. His body wasn't so much 'fat' as 'egg-shaped', and he stared at her from misshapen eyes, the left significantly larger than the right. His nose extended out inches from his face, drooping down towards the ground as though it couldn't quite support its' own weight.

Rei screamed, slamming into the bars. "LET ME OUT!" she managed as soon as she had calmed down (relatively speaking) to the point of being coherent. The old man was content to let her do this, but one of the girls extended a baton and smacked it on Rei's fists when they tried to close around the bars.

"Show respect in the presence of our Master, Patient!" the girl snapped at Rei.

"The 'you' in reality is still fast asleep," the other said, in a calm, disinterested voice. "You are only experiencing this in a dream."

Rei backed away from the bars. "Aheheh...a dream...I knew that...like, no way I could get from that dum - "

"Silence!" The first girl shouted again. "Our Master demands your attention and respect."

The old man...thing...waved them off. "Come now, Caroline. She is our guest." He looked at her. "I am delighted to make your acquaintance, Trickster. I see it in your eyes. You don't believe this is a dream...and you are correct. This is a place that exists _between_ dream and reality, between mind and matter. Only those bound by a contract may enter."

Rei giggled. She couldn't help it, it was absurd. "A...a contract? You dress me up as a mental patient and lock me in a cell, and you call me a guest? Okay, is this a game show?"

"Would you like it to be?" The man asked. "Ah, but where are my manners? I am Igor, the master of this place. This is my Velvet Room, a place which appears as you conceive your own existence. Is it truly surprising that you would see the world like this, given your history? At least to you, it shouldn't be. I admit, the coincidence is...fitting."

"Coincidence?" Rei asked. "Can you just say what you mean?"

Igor looked pleased. "Very well. You spoke of a game show earlier. If it pleases you, you may think of what is to come as a game. And the stakes of that game...are ruin, or rehabilitation."

"...what?"

"Rehabilitation toward freedom, and thus, to avoid the ruin that surely awaits you as you are now." Igor...failed to explain. "Do you have the resolve to challenge the distortion of the world?"

Rei laughed bitterly. "Shouldn't I worry about myself first in that department?"

Igor gave her a subtle nod of approval. "However, there is no rule that says you cannot do both." The two girls suddenly turned and stood at attention, facing into the cell. "Oh, pardon me. These two are my assistants. To your right is Caroline. To your left, Justine."

Justine spoke in an almost bored tone, as if reciting a speech she had made hundreds of times but still needed to pretend to care. "The duty of us orderlies is to protect patients like yourself. We are also to be your collaborators…" While her expression didn't change, her tone suddenly became menacing. "...if you remain obedient."

"Now then," Igor picked up the discussion. "It seems our time is almost up. The night is waning, and with the dawn, your reality will return."

* * *

The beeping of the alarm jolted Rei to sudden wakefulness. "Gyah...what a dream. Glad I don't have to do this _every_ morning. Except I kinda do." She opened the suitcases she had left at the top of the stairs, and pulled out a small portable laundry bag. _I'll just have to live out of these for a bit._ She quickly sorted through, and found the _Shujin Academy Uniform._ "Ugh."

 _It's just for a year. It's just for a year._ Repeating that to herself, she went down to the basement and showered again before the old man could get in. She hated everything about _the uniform_. The itchy red and black plaid slacks. The shirt that just would never fit her frame right, even after binding her breasts back to the extent they needed it. Then the jacket over it, a size too big so it would hide everything, proudly displaying the school's badge over the breast pocket. "It's...it's just for a year. I can deal with this." She smiled to herself at a sudden thought. _Maybe something horrible will happen to the principal and I'll be able to change back by summer._ Looking in the mirror, she considered her hairstyle. "Maybe I won't _have_ to cut it. Wigs are expensive." With some brushing and combing, she managed to get her hair to look far shorter than it actually was, neatly combed back and everything. A couple of hairpins to tie it in place, and she nodded and put her glasses on. One bang still fell in front of a lens, but nothing she could do about that. "Probably time to consider contacts."

A voice called down to the basement. "Hey, idiot, get up here! And put on the _right_ uniform! You don't have enough breathing room to screw around right now!"

Rei groaned. "Okay, okay old man! I know the score!" She considered the summer uniform for a moment, but there was no time to figure out how to deal with it now. She ascended the stairs and looked at Sojiro Sakura more closely.

The man wasn't really _that_ old. Sure, he'd lost most of his hair, but it was still healthy-looking and black. He also kept a beard that made him look somewhere between scruffy and distinguished. He was just pulling off his apron, with the simple polo shirt and khakis over it, he looked perfect for the cafe he ran. The one she now lived over. The back wall was lined with displays for the raw coffee beans. There was a small roaster, and a series of glass tubes whose purpose evaded Rei for a moment until she saw that they were filled with water and ground beans already, and had a flame sitting underneath like a culinary science experiment. To her left was the public restroom, the only one she'd have access to at night. Just past that was a kitchenette, not even a full-sized kitchen, with a simple oven and stove combination that would be more at home in an apartment than a restaurant. If Sojiro served anything but curry, Rei was sure there wouldn't be enough burners to supply the whole restaurant. As it was, she wasn't sure how he stayed in business.

Sojiro gave her a slight smile. "Oh, hey, got a present for you. It's from your dad." With that, several small boxes were laid out on the counter. "You sure you need all this stuff?"

Rei grinned broadly. "Hey, thanks for holding onto it for me, Boss," she said gratefully, opening the boxes. "Seriously, I didn't know what I was gonna do." Without waiting for an answer, she opened each bottle in turn and took out several pills, tossing them back along with the cup of water that Sojiro had hastily gotten while she was busy. "Whew. Really, you're a lifesaver."

"Hey, don't exaggerate." Sojiro said, a bit too quickly. "It's not like you'd die without them right?"

Rei leaned against the bar counter, a grateful expression on her face. "That's probably true, but you could have made this year a whole lot harder on me."

Sojiro shook his head. "I don't really get the big deal. Anyway, the school's a ways away. Even though it's Sunday, we've still gotta have a meeting with the Principal. Count yourself lucky. Normally only girls get to ride in the front seat of my car." Rei visibly flinched. "...sorry," he said after a second. "Hard to remember, especially when you look like that."

"Just try to keep it straight in the future, gramps."

* * *

The office was about what one would expect - shelves of books and prestigious-looking awards, probably all for the school if Rei was any judge. The man himself did not seem impressive, more of a bureaucrat than an educator. Everything was kept very neat and tidy, though. The computer in the corner was a much older model, judging by the CRT, but she supposed he wasn't playing video games on it or anything. If it worked for him, she wouldn't point out that it showed he couldn't get anything better from the Education Board.

The principal himself was a fat, disgusting slob of a man, wearing a tacky yellow suit. He had no hair to speak of, and Rei was trying very hard to avoid meeting his eyes long enough to tell what color they were. He had a way of speaking that she would best describe as 'arrogant', as if he was maintaining politeness only because he thought it could be used against her later. "I don't know how you convinced your old school to tolerate your deviancy, but let me assure you, one foot out of line and you will be out of here." Rei ground her teeth, but stayed silent. "Oh, and you're to cease taking those pills immediately."

Rei smiled, and Sojiro's eyes widened and he tried to indicate with his look not to say anything, but she was sure she knew what she was doing. "Sir, you _cannot_ legally make that request. At least, you can't kick me out for noncompliance."

"It's a cosmetic procedure," he said dismissively.

Rei pulled out a folder. "I thought you might say that...and that you might lose the paperwork." She opened it. "Officially sealed by the public notary, of course. If you try to claim they're not official or I didn't give them to you, it's a crime." She sorted the papers out. "Medical record, psychiatric record, and the relevant legal code. Also a copy of the school's bylaws, printed from the web site before I left. I took the liberty of highlighting the relevant sections of the latter two. I have a chronic medical condition, the pills and shots are my treatment. Legally speaking. Also, I've been on them for a few years. There _are_ potentially life-threatening complications from stopping now."

"I can have this overturned. You obviously tricked the doctor into giving you a cosmetic treatment you weren't ready for." The principal tried to claim again.

 _No_. Rei realized. _He's saying how he thinks this will play out if I fight him. Well, good thing I knew how to be prepared._ She just shook her head. "Do that and I can make enough of a fuss that the school's reputation will suffer regardless. Especially if I have an accident because you made me stop. I may not get what I want, but neither do you."

The fat bastard just glared at her. "I will _not_ tolerate threats."

"No threat," Rei said simply. "I did check everything on my way over. You can force me to wear the male uniform. You can _try_ to claim that my lifestyle would be disruptive to the school, but to be honest I think you'll find that doesn't work as well in the long run as you're hoping." The principal scoffed. "I wasn't done. There's a simple way we both get what we want in the end. You let me continue my treatment, I wear the pants and generally don't make a fuss, and this time next year we're done with each other and you can forget this ever happened."

The man looked at her. The look in his eyes told her ' _I have had willful little children like you destroyed before. It wouldn't bother me to do it to you.'_ But, after a moment passed between them, he pretended to move on as if the discussion had never happened. "As I was saying - remember that the terms of your probation require you to remain in school. It's absolutely certain no other school will have you, so if you're expelled you'll be sent to prison."

 _Where I won't be able to get treated anyway. I get it, I get it,_ Rei thought, but betrayed nothing of her exasperation. "I understand, Sir. Will that be all?"

"I'm curious what you intend to do about gym class," he said, a little nastiness creeping back into his voice.

Rei shrugged. "If you seriously don't think I haven't thought of _that_ you're not paying attention."

Sojiro suddenly grabbed her by the shoulder. "All right, I've gotta get back to the restaurant and I'm sure this cheeky little boy doesn't know the way…" Before another word could be said Rei found herself dragged out of the office and down the corridor.

The moment Sojiro was out of earshot he was yelling at her. "What was _that_ about!? Are you determined to screw up your second chance before you've even started?"

Rei sighed. "Chief, listen. Did I screw up back then? Hell yeah. Not even gonna deny that. But my only regret is that it probably didn't make a difference in the long term. If I could go back, get it _right_ , and still end up in this spot, I'd do it again." Sojiro stared at her in shock. "I don't give a fuck about his school's precious reputation, but he obviously does. I'll put up with a lot, but when someone threatens you, hit back harder. That's the only way I'm going to survive."

Sojiro glared. "Just remember he _can_ hit a lot harder than you can."

"I know, but is it worth his time?" Rei asked, turning to go down the stairs. "From here on I promise I'll keep my head down, but now I'm pretty sure he won't try to screw with me again just because. Anyway, it's class 2-D, right? This looks like an old-fashioned school layout, so I can find it."

* * *

 _But how do I find_ the school?! _I'm late I'm late I'm late!_ Rei mentally screamed at herself as she hurried through Shibuya station. _Right, right, gotta change lines!_ She charged up the stairs and stared around. _Oh no, where's the JR?!_ She couldn't see it, so she tried a platform at random, and, as she expected, her commuter pass buzzed at her.

It was at that point that an officer took notice, grabbing her by the shoulder and roughly pulling her back. "Hey, what do you think you're doing? Ditching class?"

Rei gulped. "No, sir, sorry. It's my first day. Transfer student."

"Oh," The officer had the grace to look embarrassed. "Okay, your train's outside, then hang a left into the first building entrance you see, then up the stairs."

"Thanks, I understand." Rei bowed to him, then checked herself and made sure it was a shallower bow. Her hair was still done up in pins, just like yesterday, and she was at least grateful for the men's shoes, which were a little sturdier so she could sprint for it.

* * *

Rei took one step outside Aoyama-Ichitome station, and was promptly soaked. "...really?" she asked no one in particular. "It's April."

"Hey, who was that?" Someone asked. Rei made a little 'eep' noise and covered her mouth, realizing it was too high for her current self. "Huh, coulda swore I heard a chick."

Another male voice asked "Was she cute?"

"I dunno, I don't see her…"

Rei sighed and walked along the narrow streets of wooden buildings. The school was still some distance away, but she knew from experience if she ran she'd just get more wet without an umbrella. Still, she wasn't eager to be out in the wet and cold longer than necessary, and her glasses were getting covered in water, making it hard to see. She looked down, and chanced to notice that her phone was buzzing. "Ugh, hope I didn't forget anything."

There was a strange app there, a red icon with a black eye over a starburst, or perhaps an explosion. "Oh, great, a virus." The icon was vibrating and glowing, showing the app was trying to get her attention. "No time to deal with this now. I'll just shut the phone off in class." She put it away and then finally started paying attention to where she was going again, only to find herself staring into the sky blue eyes of the prettiest blonde Rei thought she had ever seen in person. She stepped back, startled. The girl had her wavy hair up in pigtails, which would have been waist-length if she let it hang loose. The top button of her uniform shirt was undone, although she had a black shirt underneath. Rei was confused for a second, before she realized the girl was wearing the PE shirt rather than the regulation blouse, and had chosen to put on long leggings under the skirt. A pair of rugged hiking boots (very much _not_ regulation) gave the ensemble a stylish but roguish touch.

Rei grumbled in realization. "Stupid principal makes me wear the uniform to the letter, but she gets away with _that_?"

"Well, you are a boy, after all," the girl commented. "Anyway, I don't recognize you. Are you a first-year?"

"Uhh….no, I'm, I mean, I am... " Rei began, but then a car pulled up. The both looked at it as the window rolled down.

The man sitting inside had muscles on muscles, Rei noticed first. He was wearing a white blue hoodie and sweatpants, and even had a stop-watch and whistle hung around his neck. His face was square, all hard lines. Even _it_ somehow gave the impression of being well-muscled. Rei felt herself reflexively swallowing as he leaned out of the window. "Oh, hey Ann. You're going to be late. Why don't you hop in?" His voice was low, and something about it set Rei on edge. He glanced at Rei next, seeming a bit hesitant, but then he put on a false smile. "Uh, you can come too, sure."

Rei shook her head. This time purposely remembering to pitch her voice low, she said "I will be all right.."

"Well, suit yourself," The man said. Ann silently got into the car, and just before it took off, Rei caught a rather familiar expression on her face.

Rei took a deep breath. _Wonder what she's hiding. Oh well, can't be bigger than my secret._ She was about to turn to walk away when she saw another person with light hair staring her in the face. That was about the only thing the person shared with Ann. First, he was, well, a he. Second, his blond hair was an obvious dye job, done up in spikes. He'd replaced the respectable uniform jacket's buttons with large, bright red ones, and he was wearing a yellow shirt underneath. That was about all she took in before she jumped back in surprise. "Oh, geez, don't scare a gi-guy like that!"

The boy gave her an odd look, standing up slowly. "Huh, that's strange." He shook his head. "Anyway…" He gave her another odd look. "Second year? Never seen you before, though. Guess that's why Kamoshida offered you a ride."

"Uhh...the man in the car?" Rei asked, ignoring a ping from the bugged phone. The boy seemed a little pissed off, but she was creeped out enough by the man to be intrigued by the boy's attitude.

"Yeah. He's the gym teacher," The boy said. "Acts like he owns the place. Captain of the national-level Volleyball team, all the girls are swoonin' over him, rest of the teachers let him do whatever he wants. It's like he's king of his own private castle."

Rei's phone picked that moment to ping at her again. She ignored it. "Look, we're going be late for school. Shujin, right? Do you wish to tell me about it on the way?"

"Sure, man," he boy said, after giving her a weird look at the super-formal speech patterns. "Follow this way, I know a shortcut."

Then the phone pinged again, and Rei felt her head split in two. Not literally, but that was sure how she'd describe it later if anyone were to ask her. When she could see again, the boy was holding his head as well, and the street seemed darker. There was no one around. "Oh, fuck!" She shouted, her voice rising back to its' normal tone. "We're late!"

They sprinted off, the boy in the lead. Amazingly, he had the breath to shout back. "I'm Ryuji, by the way! Sakamoto Ryuji!"

Rei didn't have the breath to control her voice. "I'm, ah, Rei - I mean Ren! Amamiya Ren!"

Ryuji suddenly stopped. Rei almost ran into him, and was terrified that her slip had cost her the masquerade before she'd even made it to class. But that wasn't why Ryuji had stopped. Rei followed what he was looking at. A truly massive European-style castle, with stone blocks taller than two men standing on each other's shoulders, stood on the lot he had led her to, complete with a traditional front gate that read 'Shujin Academy'. "What the fuck?" both of them asked, at the same time.

Rei quickly pulled out her phone. "Thanks, now I'm late on my first day. Some short-cut!"

"I...I don't understand." Ryuji scratched his head. "This should be the school."

"I don't know of a school that looks like _that_!" Rei screeched, again forgetting to keep her voice low.

Ryuji blinked. "Uh, you okay? You sound like a chick all of a sudden."

Rei screamed again. "You really wanna know, I'll explain after school. But only if you promise to keep quiet about it." Rei looked at the display. "Oh, screw that virus. It's locked on some kind of navigation app."

Ryuji sighed. "Guess I gotta. Here." He pulled out his own phone. "Huh? No signal?"

"In _Tokyo_?" Rei said disbelievingly. "No way. And I don't see anyone around either." She turned and strode in the front gate.

Ryuji looked at her in complete amazement. "What are you doing?"

"This is clearly a love hotel or something," Rei said. "They've probably got a pay phone." She trudged up the stairs and right up to the massive front gate of the castle. "Okay, does this thing open like a normal door, or…" She took a moment to consider, then turned the surprisingly conventional handle and slammed her shoulder into it. The wooden gate didn't fly open, but it did move more than Rei had expected it to. "Oh...uh...helloooo!" She called out, stepping in. "We're a bit lost, do you have a payphone on the premises?"

Then she actually looked up. She had _expected_ a reception desk. Maybe a grand reception hall. But there was no desk, only a red carpet leading to double stairs, like an audience chamber. The balcony up top had doors leading off in either direction, flanked by a giant picture of the man from the car, clad in heavy plate armor and carrying a shining lance in what he probably thought was a heroic pose. Giant chandeliers hung from the ceiling among the rafters, giving the whole place a warm glow while throwing sinister shadows against the ceiling. She barely noticed that, though, because the hall was far from unoccupied.

Knights. Not samurai, medieval knights, each almost three meters tall, and a good amount of one across. Their legs, while normally proportioned for a regular person, did _not_ match up with their massive torsos and weapons. But the thing that Rei saw first was the eyes. Their faces were concealed beneath heavy plate helmets, just like the rest of them, but the eyes were like glowing yellow headlamps.

Their swords and spears were no more encouraging. Rei finally couldn't take it anymore. She completely dropped any pretense of the 'Ren' act and let out a high-pitched scream of terror.

Ryuji jumped. "What, what is it?!"

"Run you idiot!" Rei didn't even wait to see if he followed behind her, sprinting off. Though judging by the fact that he screamed and the sound of heavier footsteps behind her, she guessed he had gotten the message...until she heard a cry of pain and turned. "Ryuji!"

The boy was on the ground, clutching at his leg. Rei looked up at the approaching soldiers, then down at him. He was too big for her to pick up unless he cooperated, and it looked like he needed a second. She looked around for something to help, and the best she could think of to use against something like that was a nearby garbage can lid. She grabbed it and threw it with all the force she could manage at the 'face' of the knight leading the charge. It had no effect beyond the loud crash of metal on metal, and while Rei was trying to help Ryuji to her feet, she felt herself being grabbed and forcibly restrained.

While Ryuji was spitting out invectives, Rei felt herself being manhandled rather roughly. Then one of her captors paused for a moment, seeming to notice something. It leaned in to stare closely at her face. " **Hmm?"** It reached up to feel at her chest.

She spat at the thing. "Hands off me, you creep!"

" **This one might be interesting. Bring...him...to the Royal Quarters. The other one, straight to the dungeons!"** Rei's eyes widened and she began to struggle again, but she felt something heavy hit her in the back of the head and slumped in the creature's arms.

* * *

When she came to, she was, at least, still in her uniform. The boy's uniform. Her book bag and gym satchel were the first things she noticed, in one corner. The next was that she was on an obscenely large, heart-shaped bed. "Euw." The word was a complete deadpan. Something in the way the guard had spoken had given her the impression that it would be something like this.

She was obviously still in the castle, but this room was festooned with banners with hearts on them, in an alternating pink and red pattern. She was surrounded with candles, which she assumed were intended to give the room a 'romantic' atmosphere but just made it eerie, with the same effect of shadows hovering overhead.

Then she looked a little closer. The shadows were _literally_ hovering over her, insubstantial but definitely moving. "Ohhhh dear," she said. She got up and tried to make for the book bag, pulling out her hairpins. Since the only people present were the guards, and Ryuji (who she'd have to explain to anyway) the comfort was necessary. It was even more necessary when she realized she was chained to the bed by her ankles. "... _great_." The chains were actually long enough to reach most of the room, but while she could get to her satchel, and even change if she didn't mind ripping her pants off in a literal sense….she decided uncomfortable as they were, she was better off for the moment.

" **Ah, excellent, you're awake!"** a jovial voice called out. The door opened, and Kamoshida was there. Except no teacher ever dressed like that during the work day. Rei genuinely hoped no teacher dressed like that at any time, ever, period, especially not where a student might see it.

He was wearing a long, red fur cloak that tried to hide his entire body, but failed to whenever he flailed his arms. In fact, nothing else was concealing his body beyond a bright pink speedo that was so tight against his crotch that David Bowie would be jealous. His chest, covered in hair, was put proudly on display with every movement. But that wasn't the most disturbing thing. That was his eyes. They weren't the dark eyes she'd seen him with in the car. These were wide, hungry eyes that glowed softly with golden light. Somehow, the crown on his head made the overall effect both ridiculous and pathetic, except Rei knew there was no way she could escape the man while she was chained like this.

"Wh-what do you want?" she asked, using her real voice. She realized there was no point pretending - if the principal hadn't told him, the guards certainly did. _Please don't let it be what I think it is._

Kamoshida raised an eye at the hair. " **Ah, I see. You're quite lovely with your hair down like that,"** he said, in a way she was sure he thought was suave. " **So this is why you were brought to me instead of to your execution."**

" _Execution?!"_ Rei couldn't believe it. He was a teacher, not...not…

Kamoshida gave a shrug that had an effect on the cloak Rei wished she didn't have to look at. " **Of course, for intruding on the King's lands, of course. But...you might yet be spared…"**

 _Oh kami-sama, it is…_ "How?"

" **Agree to join my harem….all girls in my castle belong to me, after all!"** He laughed. " **See, I'm even a progressive monarch, for I offer you a choice...be mine, or be my slave."**

Rei's mouth moved without her brain's involvement. "Are you kidding me? You're twice my age, your chest is covered in hair, you're dressed like _that_ , and...and...did I mention you're twice my age?" She actually laughed. "This is really hilarious. It would even be pathetic if you weren't crazy."

Kamoshida snapped his fingers, and Rei suddenly found herself being held by the arms. " **So that's your answer, then? Fine. I could have used a little...exotic flair in my halls, but if a boy you wish to be, you'll die a man's death."**

Rei tried to struggle, but it was no good. A third soldier….the only way she could describe it later was that shadows on the floor flowed together and...reverse-melted into the shape of another of the massive knights, spear already raised to strike. _I...someone...someone please save me!_

 _This is truly an unjust game..._ Rei heard an answering voice in her head, higher and softer than her own. _Your chances of winning are almost none...but if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you…_

Rei swallowed, calming down. _That's right...I just need to know the next move. I can get out of this. I can beat this guy. I can beat all of them._

A third voice in her head answered, this one low, almost casually seductive, and definitely also female. **What's wrong? Were you seriously going to let** _ **that**_ **man have his way with you? And what about your friend? He'll die if you do nothing. Would you forsake him to save yourself?**

 _No way,_ Rei answered. _Sure, he's dense, but he was trying to help._

 **So you stand by your past? You would do anything, break any bond, violate any taboo, for the sake of those weaker than yourself?**

Rei sensed this was important. She couldn't lie to the voice, not if she wanted its' help. But it wasn't a hard choice to make at all. _I would._

 **You wish to live your life as you see fit, unbound by the chains those above would place on you?**

 _I do._

 **Very well,** the mysterious voice answered. **I have heeded your resolve.**

Pain. The same pain that had accompanied the transition to this world, Rei now realized, only not just in her head, but all through her being, mind, body, and soul. She felt something trying to escape, something that could never truly be split apart from her, but nonetheless would try. **Swear it!**

Rei screamed, not just her pain but her defiance at Kamoshida. She resumed her struggling, this time with purpose. " _ **I AM THOU! THOU ART I!"**_ Her own voice was overlaid with that of the other woman's inside her head. The other voice spoke with her mouth. " **Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice!** " The winds picked up around her. " **Call upon my name, and release thy anger on these fools!"**

Kamoshida took a step back away from her, the horror plain on his face. " **Wh-what are you? How are you doing this?! This is** _ **my**_ **castle!** _ **My world!**_ "

Rei's face burned as the pain running through her body gathered and took form on top of it. A sudden surge of the wind blew the guards away from her. She began to laugh, the mad cackle of one who finally understood life's joke. The pain was a mask, just like the boy's clothing. And like any mask, it had its' uses, but it was time to rip this one off. She reached up, and tried to do so. A brief tug just brought more pain, as though the mask was part of her face. She reached behind the two corners of the domino mask, noting it had lenses like her glasses. She pulled, hard, even though it felt like ripping off her own face, and feeling the blood trickling down. " _ **ADLER!**_ "

The mask gone, Rei was engulfed in blue flame, flames which formed a face of red, before slowly splitting off and behind the smaller girl, taller even the knights surrounding her. It wore a tight Victorian suit, leaving no doubt that 'it', in fact, was 'she.' Extending back from the red, ruffled jacket were black wings, stretching out like a cloak. But Rei was sure, if one looked closely, that one would find no flesh and bone beneath the red jacket and black pants. Just blue flame. " **I am the pillager of Twilight - Adler."**

With everyone around her knocked off their feet, Rei herself felt different. She looked down and realized her clothes had changed. Even though she had taken off the mask, there was already another one in place. But more than that, her uniform was a single piece of skin-tight...something. Rubber or latex. It clung to her, but was just thick enough to at least leave some to the imagination. She had a belt with a pouch on it, and a few more rings to hang useful tools on if she survived long enough to grab any. Importantly, she noticed there was no visible bulge along the crotch area. In fact, the only thing that made her not look like a stereotypical 'sexy thief' as portrayed in action movies was the one addition to the outfit she was grateful for - a long trenchcoat that opened in the front, made of black leather.

The winds died down, and her hair fell back into place. That was when she realized the outfit had come with one very helpful addition - a long knife, strapped across the back of her waist. She drew it eagerly and stared at the monsters around her, before setting her gaze directly on the most human-looking of them. "Bring it."


	2. Chapter 2

The Ambassador was nodding. "I recall that scandal. Kamoshida Suguru. It so happens that I was at those particular Olympics." Rei raised an eyebrow. "Not the most sporting individual, but I would hardly have suspected…"

Rei nodded. "No one ever believes the victims."

"I assume that became your guiding principle, then," the man offered. "You started from a place of trusting the victims."

"Trust, but verify," Rei countered. "But we'll get to that. The Metaverse is a powerful tool, regardless of the form it takes. But it has limitations, too. By looking at the Shadow you can tell a lot about the person, but it isn't just the heinous nature of the crime that causes a Shadow to appear." She thought. "That's probably not exactly right. Everyone has a Shadow, but for it to affect the Metaverse there has to be some irreconcilable difference between reality and perception."

"I'm...afraid I don't understand."

Rei smiled. "Let me get on with things, then, and you will."

* * *

Rei drew the long knife from across the small of her back. It wasn't a wakizashi, as she had briefly expected, but a European dagger, with a broad, flat, wickedly-edged double blade. She felt power coursing through her body like a blue-hot flame, as well as the demonic thief behind her, hovering, waiting.

Her opponents seemed so...pathetic now. Stupid. Childish men with no check on their desires. She smiled wickedly at the weakest-looking of them. The one who wore the crown of 'King Kamoshida.' "Bring it."

Kamoshida pointed directly at her. " **Kill him!"**

" **Now does not seem to be the time for bargaining"** Adler said from behind her. " **I am thy fury. Unleash me on thy foes.** "

Rei grinned at her 'other self's' comment. She pointed at Kamoshida, in between the knights. "Destroy him."

Adler waved her hand, and ghosts and spirits flowed up through the floor, all seeming to target the barely-dressed man. He screamed and tried to flee, but the ghosts were far too fast, swarming over him. Kamoshida screamed as the chilly forms passed through him, leaving a frostbite that had little to do with the cold. He stumbled and fell, backing away into the corner.

Rei was about to scream 'again' when the knights moved into position to block her. " **Thy own power is not inconsiderable. These things I give to you."** Rei nodded up to the demon. She charged between the knights, far faster than she ever could have managed as just herself. She saw an opening in the armor of her opponents, between the face mask and the neck, and leaped almost a meter, spinning herself in an impossible arc to slide the dagger across each knight's throat. They reached up as though their throats had been slit completely open, before melting into the ground.

Rei casually strode to Kamoshida, who was now in the corner, staring at her in horrified fascination. " **What dost thou wish?"**

Rei considered it for a moment. "Where's Ryuji-kun?" she asked him.

" **I-i-in the dungeons!"** Kamoshida responded.

"Thanks!" She said brightly, before slamming the butt of the dagger into the man's temple. He slumped to the ground, unconscious. She thought about it for a second, then kicked him in the crotch. "Asshole."

She glanced down and realized she was still in the chains. A pair of high kicks, and the cuffs snapped. "Child's play." Then she realized she still needed her things. They were easy enough to get at now, but carrying them would be a pain. Then she looked at the pouch. "...I wonder."

Despite the pouch being barely big enough to hold her fist, an entire book bag and duffel bag, filled with everything she needed for school, fit neatly inside. "Woah, this is too weird. Like I'm some sort of demon mahou shoujo." She looked up behind her to Adler for some more advice, but the demon was gone. "Hey!"

 **I am thou. Call me when thou dost have need in battle.**

 _Okay, that makes sense._ Rei conceded. Especially with the Phantom Thief vibe of the outfit. She'd have had a hard time sneaking around being followed by a giant demon, after all. She tried the door. Not only was it unlocked, but she lucked out and there was a large planter with a tree nearby. With her seemingly magical strength, it was absolutely no problem to push it in front of the door. _There. That'll slow him down. I don't see any other guards, and if he had the key on him I_ don't _want to know. Don't suppose you know how to pick locks, Adler._

 **Alas, that is a skill thou shall learn in time.**

 _Rats._

* * *

The castle was absolutely swarming with guards. That would have been a problem, but they seemed to be staggering around as if drunk, and as long as Rei didn't directly stand in front of one, she found she was completely invisible to them. There was one scary moment when two pumpkin-headed scarecrows, riding about on flying brooms, flew past her while cackling with the voices of young boys, but she ignored that when they went right by her as well. Eventually, she reached the dungeons.

It was absolutely awful. The screams of tortured prisoners echoed through the halls, while the guards lumbered about their patrol patterns in the same daze as the one above. Rei carefully moved from hiding spot to hiding spot, creeping along close behind as they opened and closed doors so as not to get left behind. She knew she'd have to attack a guard sooner or later, but it seemed foolish to provoke an armed response if she _didn't_ have to.

It wasn't until the third cell block that she found what she was looking for. Ryuji's voice was echoing up the hall. "What the FUCK!? Let me outta here Kamoshida!"

Rei looked, but there didn't seem to be any guards here. _They probably tried to avoid the noise._ She ran to the cell door. "Ryuji! Calm down!"

Ryuji needed a moment to take in what he was seeing. She waited with a growing sense of irritation while his eyes traveled all over her body before they reached her eyes and she finally saw a glimmer of recognition there. "Wait, dude, you're a _girl_?!"

Rei groaned. _Even_ now _people care more about that?_ "Yes, Ryuji. I'm a girl."

Ryuji took a moment to process this. "Then why were yah wearing the boy's uniform?"

Rei gritted her teeth, then forced herself to be calm. "Look, it'll take awhile to explain, and _you_ don't have time. Kamoshida's gonna have you executed by those...things."

Ryuji went pale. "Hey, dude, you gotta get me out of this!"

Rei glared at him. "I get enough of that from people who don't want anything from me!" Ryuji took a step away from the bars. "Gyah, sorry. Look, I'll make you a deal. I'll get you out of here and explain everything, and you try to keep that talk down."

Ryuji nodded. "Uh...yeah, no problem. Sorry."

"Hey," A third voice said. "I can get you out of here...but you've gotta help me too." The voice was that of a young boy, coming from one cell deeper in. Rei glanced in, and nearly screamed her head off.

The speaker was an anthropomorphic cat, about two thirds of a meter tall. His head was giant, round, with outsized blue eyes and a small mouth. It's humanoid frame took up less than half of its' body, resulting in an impression of nothing so much as a giant American football, painted half black, half white, and precariously perched on its' neck. "I'm Morgana."

"Heheh...talking cat….okay, I'm dreaming."

"This is no dream!" The cat shouted at her. "Stay with me! There's a small pouch on a hook just outside the cell. It's got my stuff in it."

Rei swallowed and nodded. "Okay, sure." She tossed it into the cell, where the cat caught it, then hopped up and reached through the bars. Seconds later, the cat and Ryuji were both freed. "Woah...cool. Can you teach me how to do that?"

"Sure...if you promise to help me out in return." The cat said. "I'm Morgana by the way. And for today, why don't we just focus on getting the dead weight out of here?"

"Hey!" Ryuji shouted.

Morgana looked at him. "You don't have a Persona like this girl, right?" He made a gesture at Rei. "That makes you dead weight. No matter how strong your body is, without a Persona you can't do anything in the Metaverse."

Rei swallowed. "I'm sorry, but I think he's right, Ryuji-kun. Until this happened, I couldn't do anything. That bastard tried to stick me in his harem, and….ugh. I'm gonna give him such a stabbing when we get out of here."

Morgana shook his head rapidly. "No! That isn't the real one!"

"Huh?"

Morgana sighed. "It's complicated. But the first thing you need to know, if you're a newbie, is that your Persona can't manifest in the real world. I mean, it _can_ but you gotta be _really_ strong. There's no way you're that powerful your first time out."

Rei hung her head in disappointment. _There go my dreams of being an elegant thief by night, I guess._ "Okay, so if this _isn't_ the real world, what is it?"

"Broadly speaking, you're in the Metaverse," Morgana explained. "That's….kind of a place where the collective unconscious of humanity has a physical form and can be affected by your actions. The guards are actually what's called Shadows, living manifestations of human dreams and wishes that have become twisted. None of this is . . . well, 'real' isn't the right word, but. . . "

Rei nodded. "Okay, we can go with that. More specifically, where are we?"

"That Kamoshida guy's Palace."

Rei tried to put that together. "Euw! We're in the gym teacher's _mind_?! Kami, I'm gonna need every shower in the _universe!_ "

Morgana chuckled. "You pick things up pretty quick."

Ryuji was slowly looking more and more panicked as the back-and-forth went on. "I don't get half of this, but shouldn't we be getting out of here?"

"Fortunately, no one ever comes down here unless it's time for an execution," Morgana said. "Good thing too."

Rei nodded. "Okay, so I did not, in fact, _actually_ knock out my gym teacher, kick him in the crotch, and lock him in a bedroom. Okay…" She repeated the word. "Will the 'real' one remember that part?"

"Fortunately, no." Morgana's voice reflected Rei's own relief. "Maybe as a dream. But it'll still affect his subconscious reactions to you."

"Greaaaat. Hope he doesn't like to check in on the locker rooms." Rei grumbled. "Anyway, I think that's all I wanted to know. We'll have to be careful. I think I had it easy because he was knocked out, but once he recovers this place will be on high alert."

* * *

Rei winced as another scream echoed through the halls. "Wish that would stop," she muttered. She was currently on one knee, leaning out to peer around the corner at another patrol pattern. "Morgana-san, you seem to know what's what around here. Why would...that...be happening? I get Kamoshida's a creep, but it sounds like they're torturing people."

Morgana made a little hmm sound from where he stood at the rear. "You said he was a gym teacher, but does he do anything else?"

Ryuji was between them, trying to keep an eye out while Rei restrained him with one hand on his shoulder. "Yeah, he's the volleyball coach. His practices are really brutal, though."

Rei swallowed. "But so bad they count as - " another scream cut her off. "...that?"

"They must be," Morgana said quietly. "This place is how he thinks of himself and the school. If he didn't realize how bad it was, they wouldn't be…"

Ryuji finally pulled away from the corner. "We have to go back for'em!"

Rei grabbed him. "Ryuji-kun, think!" The boy practically snarled, but she squeezed down on his shoulder. "No, seriously. They can't be real, or he wouldn't have any students on the team. My guess is that they're just….illusions. Reflections of the real guys as he sees them."

"Then...then…" Ryuji seemed to be at a loss. "Can't we at least use it to find out who he's doin' this to in the real world?"

Morgana said "That's actually not a bad idea! But…"

Rei leaned out again. "I hear you. Morgana-san, do you think I can come back here?"

"Sure!" Morgana said excitedly. "I thought I was going to have to force you."

Rei chuckled. "Okay. Ryuji-kun, no offense, but today, let's just get out of here. I promise I'll come back on a fishing expedition once you're out of danger...another day. We've still got to try to salvage the school day too." She could almost see the objection forming in his mind. "No. There's no way he's doing that much in the real world. I'm sure he's awful, and we're going to have to let him get away with it for today. For. Today. I swear to you, if we can figure out how to get this done, we'll save them."

Ryuji finally agreed. "I guess it would just be more trouble if I got caught too. I don't have one of those Persona things."

Rei 'whew'ed internally, then looked to the hallway in question. "Okay, so, I don't see any way to sneak by."

"How'd you get down here?" Ryuji asked.

Rei bit her lip. "Well, when I was coming the other way, Kamoshida was still recovering from when I knocked him out. The fake Kamoshida, anyway."

Morgana interrupted. "That must have been his Shadow. Every Palace has one Shadow that controls the whole thing. Their desires become so twisted around that it warps the Metaverse around them and even compels weaker Shadows to become its' servants."

"Okay...so when I managed to knock Kamoshida's Shadow out, it disrupted his control for a bit." Rei said speculatively.

"Yes." Morgana said. "You must have caught him by surprise with your transformation."

Rei chuckled. "I guess I was a bit overly-dramatic. In the real world I would've been out flat for stopping like that, but in the moment he was so stunned that I actually got the drop on him."

"Don't count on that again," Morgana cautioned. "Anyway, you're on the right track. Those guards are basically untouchable unless the Shadow thinks they are. You'll have to do something to disrupt the control Kamoshida has over them. Even if you try to attack them straight up, he'll just make more." Morgana hmmd. "You can't just break the connection completely, but I think...yes! You'll probably be able to force the Shadows into their true form if you remove that face mask."

Rei nodded. "Okay. And like this I'm _way_ faster and stronger than in the real world." She smiled. "Right, quiet."

The guard had turned around and was coming back up the hallway. Rei counted the steps in her mind, one, two, three times. Ryuji was getting antsy, but the fourth time it turned, Rei struck. A single foot lashed out from behind the statue into the back of the knight's knee, bringing it down, and then Rei leaped onto it's back. She managed to get both hands around the face plate and ripped, rolling backwards to the ground and over, to her feet, drawing her knife.

By the time she was ready to complete the follow-through, she was brought up short. Instead of a face, the Shadow had simply more of the inky blackness that had been following her around the Metaverse. The whole creature simply dissolved, and formed into a giant horse. Two meters and change tall, with a dark purple coat and red glowing eyes. The creature's head was also crowned with two long, curling horns, like a ram's. It lowered its head at her as if to charge. "Adler!"

Nothing happened.

Rei felt a moment of panic seize her, but Morgana whipped out of hiding, leading a charge with a bowie knife the size of his own head and cut deep into the beast. "Not like that! It's a part of you! Channel your emotions!"

Rei growled. " **ADLER!** " The demon reappeared, and with it the spirits that hadn't really done much beyond intimidating Kamoshida's Shadow. This time, though, the beast simply...vanished. "...I'm not sure if that's cool or terrifying. Did I just banish someone's soul to Hell?"

Morgana laughed. "You've sure got an imagination on you. No, that was just a Shadow. It's just a reflection of someone, maybe not even still alive. If you can't recognize them, they're too disconnected from the person that created them for any damage to be done."

Rei grinned. "Oh, good." She wavered on her feet. "Damn, I'm getting tired."

"Yeah," Morgana agreed. "Your first time puts a real strain on you. Anyway, we're almost to the outer wall. There's probably an exit at the other end of the hall." When they had gotten there, it was just...another wall. There was another Shadow at the far end, but it wasn't paying any attention. "Okay, up here."

Rei looked, but couldn't see anything beyond a lone barrel and a support beam. "Huh?"

"Jump up!"

Rei sighed, and did so. Near the ceiling, the shadows retreated and she could see…"Huh? A ventilation shaft?"

"For real?" Ryuji exclaimed. "You're just like a real thief, crawling through ducts and stuff!"

Rei rolled her eyes and lowered a hand. "Here. Don't strain yourself with that leg." Once he was up, Rei pried the vent covering it open off with her knife and they crawled through, rolling out and on top of some crates. She looked around, and sighed with relief. "Oh, good, we're at the entrance. Now we just need to get away, get out of the Metaverse, and come back and it'll be the school again?"

Morgana nodded. "How did you get here in the first place?"

Rei frowned, and pulled her phone out of the pouch. "My phone's stuck on this app. It showed us here…."

Morgana nodded. "Good. That's probably your ticket out. I'll stay here for today. Don't worry, I won't get caught a second time. Come back in a few days. I can scout around in the meantime."

Rei nodded. "Okay. Seeya then."

"Seeya," Ryuji echoed.

* * *

Back in the real world, it took Rei only a few moments to put her hair back. She looked to Ryuji. "Shibuya station, after school, in the underground mall. There's a handicapped bathroom, right?" Ryuji nodded hesitantly. "Meet me there if you want your answers about...me. Until then, if anyone asks, my name's Ren, I'm _definitely_ a boy, and not a girl."

"Wait, what?"

Rei growled. "It's already fourth period. There _is no time_ right now. Please do this for me. I could be _expelled_ if you blab, and that would be bad. I mean, worse than just being expelled."

Ryuji scratched the back of his head nervously. "Well, I don't really get it, but if it's that important I'll do it. But you'd better come clean after school."

Rei looked at him another moment, but she realized she didn't have any more time. She ran through the front gates, changed her shoes as quickly as possible, and made it to the teacher's office as quickly as she could. "Sensei? Kawakami-sensei?"

The first thing Rei noticed about the woman was that she was _exhausted._ She wasn't quite at the point of collapse, but Rei had seen that look before. The brown hair was just a bit scraggly, and her eyes gave the impression she wasn't all there. That look quickly vanished as soon as she realized Rei had spoken. "Where _were you_? Late on the first day, and four periods!"

Rei gulped. "I'm really, _really_ sorry," she said, bowing and making sure her voice was pitched correctly. _Just be Ren again. It's just for a year, you'll manage._ "A 'friend' from my old school recommended a bugged navigation app to me. By the time I realized it was sending me to Shuujin Academy by mistake - "

"There's no Shuujin Academy in Tokyo," the teacher said crossly.

Rei swallowed. "I didn't realize my mistake until it tried to get me to board a Shinkansen to Osaka. Who knows where it would have sent me after that. By that point, I was thoroughly lost." She bowed again. "I really am very sorry."

Kawakami grabbed her head. "First this, then Kamoshida suddenly doesn't feel well." Rei carefully kept her expression neutral. "You're making a lot of trouble already. I hope this isn't going to be how your school career goes."

Rei couldn't _quite_ resist the joke. "I was hoping to get my allotment out of the way so I could get down to being a normal student for awhile."

Kawakami glared at her. "You understand your situation, right?"

Rei just sighed. "I have to pretend to be a boy aga-"

"No, you _are_ a - " Kawakami started to snap, but Rei managed a single look of anger that cut her off. "All right, all rightl. I guess whether you're pretending or not doesn't matter, as long as you _do it_." She walked past Rei, clearly intending for her to follow. "Once the period ends I'll introduce you to the class. Oh, and I'll have to inform your guardian about this little slip-up."

Rei murmured a quiet 'yes' and followed. The break still had students loitering in the halls, getting the last of their lunches and gossip in. As she walked by, most of the gossip shifted. 'Hey, is that the transfer student?' 'I heard he killed someone,' 'He looks so small and quiet,' 'I heard he's a tenth dan karate master' 'Don't be stupid, he's just a complete psycho. He looks normal, but you look back wrong and he'll tear out your throat with his bare teeth.'

 _Someone blabbed._ Rei growled to herself. _But why only about the assault? Surely if they wanted me out of here they could have just leaked I'm a girl and that would be the end of it._ Then the walk was over, and they were in class. Rei barely heard the teacher's introduction, walking up to the board and writing the kanji for her old name. Turning around, she bowed. "It's very nice to meet you all for the first time," she said, sticking to the gender-neutral as much as possible. It helped. "My name is Ren Amamiya. I'll be here for the rest of this year, so please welcome me." She bowed, grateful that her misadventures earlier hadn't put any of her clothes out of place.

She looked around the classroom for an empty seat, and also to try to familiarize herself with her classmates. The first thing that drew her eye was the number of students sporting injuries. It honestly reminded her of the dojo around testing time, but as far as she knew schools were still forbidden from having serious _budo_ martial arts clubs. _What kind of sports could injure people that consistently? Kendo? I didn't think Shujin had a club that was that popular._

One guy in particular stood out. He was one of the few boys that even she would stand over, although then not by much. He had his hair cut neat, but apparently he was hot because the regulation blazer was over the back of his seat. _A fever?_ If so, either he was unlucky as heck or he was injured even more than Rei estimated. The bandage across his cheek could just have been a simple cut, but the way he had one of his feet twisted indicated an ankle sprain, his left wrist was obviously recovering from another, and she guessed that his other leg probably had a few bruises. _Someone's favorite punching bag,_ Rei concluded disgustedly.

He might be the favorite, but he wasn't the only. There was a girl and two other boys in the room with similar injuries, plus a black eye on one of the boys. _No way. The sprains I could see,_ maybe _the black eye, but there's no way properly-played volleyball is equal to a Kyokushin test. He would have to be_ trying _to get this many injuries._

However, there wasn't a whole lot of selection in seats. In fact, the only option seemed to be behind the blonde she had seen get into Kamoshida's car earlier. "Sensei, should I use that spot or is the class being rearranged today?"

Kawakami looked surprised at Rei's complete shift in attitude. "Uhh...that's fine."

Rei took the seat, very careful to adjust her pose to one she wouldn't have dared in the uniform she preferred. She exchanged a glance with the girl, and gave her a small nod and what she thought was a hopeful smile. The class itself erupted into whispers, which she did her best to ignore. The ones about her were easy enough. She'd sat in the hall long enough to know what to expect, but one in particular caught her attention. ' _Is she cheating on him with Kamoshida-sensei?'_

She pulled out her book and began to follow along in class. _If I'm a model student, they will pay less attention to me._ She was even able to respond to her name being called out in the middle of a particularly boring lecture. She was thankful for that too, because she noticed the teacher had picked up a piece of chalk and was looking for a target, judging by the way he had it cupped in his palm rather than held to write with.

When the next class break came up, Rei pulled out her lunch - a couple of rice balls she'd snagged at the neighborhood conbini, but sighed. There was something that needed to be addressed first. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name." Which would be because no one had said it, given her late introduction.

The blonde in front of her turned, though, which was a good sign. "Oh, I'm Ann. Ann Takamaki."

Rei smiled politely. "Takamaki-san. I remember you from earlier, with the man in the car."

Ann's expression fell. "Oh, right, that…"

Rei internally cursed. This wasn't going well, but she _had_ to say it. "I'm afraid I made an unwarranted assumption, before Sakamoto informed me of everything. For that, I sincerely apologize."

Ann glared at Rei. "Did you have to bring it up?"

Rei winced, and Ann's expression softened slightly. "It's...yes. I did. I…" she quickly realized where she was. "For the moment, please just allow me to say that I should have known better than to make assumptions."

Now Ann's expression was just confused. "Uhm...okay?"

Rei swallowed. "Always, always be kind. It's . . . something my father tried hard to teach me." She shrugged helplessly. "I don't always live up to it, and it's gotten me in trouble…"

Ann tilted her head in confusion. "Are you coming on to me?"

Rei shook her head. "Don't get me wrong. You're beautiful, but I have a gi-er, someone back where I came from."

Ann quirked an eyebrow. "O...okay. You're a strange one. Nice, but strange." Ann glanced at the clock, but there were still a few minutes in the break. "I'm not sure you should be getting mixed up with Sakamoto, though."

Rei chuckled. "I'm aware, but he _did_ manage to get me un-lost. I owe him something for that."

Ann seemed satisfied with that. "Just be careful."

* * *

Rei was, in fact, careful. Careful to vanish as soon as school was over. She blended into the crowds on the way to the train station, as soon as she was off, and on her way to the family restroom she had mentioned to Ryuji earlier. She glanced around to make sure no one was paying particular attention, then locked the door behind her as soon as she was in.

The hair was first. It was a bit of genius, in her mind, the way she'd managed to get it so she could go back to a hairstyle she could actually live with with a few tugs. It took some effort to go the other way, but she wasn't complaining. She tore off the school uniform so fast that she was almost afraid she'd damaged it. She couldn't fit anything fancy into a school bag, but she managed some leggings, a jean skirt, and a white T-shirt in her proper sizes. She folded up her glasses and put them away, and the transformation was complete.

Ryuji was standing with his back to the toilet when she got out, and she smiled to herself. "Hey," she said. "Looking for me?"

"Huh?" Ryuji spun around. "Wh-whoa...duuuu.." he caught a sudden flicker of annoyance in her expression. "...I'm gonna shut up."

Rei giggled. "Just this once, I'll let you get away with that. Uhm...know somewhere cheap to eat? I don't get any sort of allowance and I haven't been able to figure out a part time job yet."

Ryuji grinned. "This time it'll be on me." Rei looked like she was about to protest. "Hey, you saved my life and kicked Kamoshida's brain so hard I got out of PE. That's worth a bowl of ramen at least."

Rei giggled again. "Okay, when you put it like that, I accept. It's not a date though."

"Just two new friends going out for a bite," Ryuji confirmed. "Even if you are cute, I get the feeling I don't know everything."

Ryuji even covered Rei's subway fare to the place he had in mind, which Rei was grateful for. They made their way down to the subway platform in companionable silence, stepping into the lines crowded with students making their way home, to after-school hangouts, or part-time jobs.

Rei started to feel a bit awkward when she heard the sound of screeching metal. Looking around, she didn't see any obvious source, but the sound was coming from the subway tunnel. "LOOK OUT!" She shouted, grabbing Ryuji and dragging him to the ground. Moments later, the train screamed through at a speed that would give an airplane a run for its' money. Just as it reached the far end of the track, it derailed, sending debris and shrapnel flying through the platform. The signs hanging overhead rattled on their chains, and one fell down, sending even more glass flying through the room over the pair. As the initial damage died down, the screaming started.

Ryuji returned the favor, pulling Rei up and setting her down. Supporting each other, they managed to make it up the stairs and back into the nearby shopping arcade in record time. "You...you hurt?" he asked her.

"No." Rei said after looking herself over to confirm it. "You?"

"Maybe bumped my head a little, but it's nothing," Ryuji said. He was surprised when Rei suddenly leaned in _way_ the hell too close for comfort, although her eyes were far too hard for it to feel intimate. "H-hey!"

Rei shook her head. "Can't be too careful, especially with head injuries," she said.

Ryuji desperately sought a way to change the topic, and looked down at the train station. "...you know what, let's go hit up the diner instead. Ain't ramen, but it's way better than Big Bang Burger."

Rei nodded. "Gimmie a sec. Need to call my guardian."

She called in, and Sojiro answered his phone with a sigh. "What is it? I'm busy, and I already heard about your being late."

"Turn on the news," Rei said, trying hard not to snap. "If it's not already."

There was a moment of silence. "Wait, you were _down there_?"

"Yeah. I'm not hurt, but I need a bit." She looked around for a first aid kid, but the sirens indicated that professionals were already on the way. "I'd better get going, but I'm going to have to walk. I should be at the cafe a little after the usual closing time. Sorry about this."

Sojiro delayed his answer for a long time. Almost too long. "I guess this time you can't help it. I'll give you fifteen extra minutes."

"Thanks, Chief." Rei said gratefully. She cut the connection and looked to Ryuji. "Okay, I managed to buy 15 minutes off my usual curfew."

* * *

"Where to start…" Rei said, picking at her rice. "Okay, so, yeah. I won't say it again after this, but I'm a girl. It's just...the principal's making me attend as a boy."

Ryuji sat in the wooden booth bench across from her, leaning back and drinking his soda. "Okay. That's weird, but honestly I'm not surprised. I'd hate having ta wear the girls' uniform and stuff and I sure wouldn't put that past him if he could get away with it. So…"

"So?" Rei asked, startled.

Ryuji leaned forward. "How's he getting away with it?" Rei mumbled something under her breath. "Uh...what was that?" Rei mumbled again, only a little louder. "Sorry, didn't catch that."

"...because it's on my birth certificate." Rei finally said. Ryuji stared at her, obviously not sure what to say. She felt herself collapse inwards. _Here's where it starts…_

Ryuji finally shrugged. "Damn, tough break."

Rei felt her jaw drop. "Wait, you're not gonna - "

"What?" Ryuji grinned like a madman. "Nah, you probably got enough of that shit at your old school. And anyway, ain't my business. We ain't dating. I mean, I got questions, but you don't gotta answer them."

Rei felt gratitude flood her. "Thanks. I thought...well, after everything…"

"Do you mind?" Ryuji asked.

Rei thought about it, but so far this had gone pretty well. And, really, Ryuji was trusting her. The usual battery of questions were just horrifically embarrassing, but at least he'd offered to not ask. If he thought she might flake out, things could go badly. "Sure."

Ryuji nodded. "Well...yeah, can't think of a way to ask this that ain't bad. How do ya _look_ so good? Most newhalfs are kinda…"

Rei nodded. This, she'd expected. "First, I'm _not_ a newhalf. I don't go dancing or entertaining men like that." Ryuji had the good grace to look embarrassed. "Just an ordinary girl with a medical issue. I _could_ do it but I'm not interested." She reached into her book bag and pulled out the pill bottles. "As for my 'secret'...Hormone treatments. I started the battery about a year ago, after puberty blockers, so I already grew up more girl than boy. You can't get surgery in Japan until you're twenty, and anyway my family doesn't make _that_ much. I'd been saving myself too, but...stuff happened."

"Damn, you mean health insurance doesn't cover it?" Ryuji actually growled.

Rei shoveled up a mouthful of rice, no longer able to restrain her hunger. "You'd think, but no. It's still considered 'optional'. I'm damn lucky my pills are covered, and they're still expensive as Hell. I'm getting a stipend from my dad, but it barely covers them on top of food and the occasional trip to the bathhouse unless I want to go black market. That's...not a great idea."

"Damn adults. They just make the world a worse place," Ryuji grumbled while Rei popped her pills back. "That 'stuff' have anything to do with the rumors you tore a man apart or whatever?"

Rei snorted. "It was one lousy punch. I was just trying to get the guy to back off a girl he was assaulting, but I was first _dan_. Kyokushin, if you must know. Of course, the conviction took care of that too. The woman filed a fake report and I was done."

Ryuji stared at her. "Wow. And I thought I had it tough with Kamoshida." He grinned. "Speaking of, when we going back there?"

" _You_ aren't," Rei said. "Not tomorrow, anyway. I want to see Morgana first and make sure we've got a path to the torture rooms we can keep safe for you. I'll probably have to do that day after tomorrow. Even with the subway accident, the Chief's probably going to expect me home on time tomorrow. Anyway, If we can manage a safe route for you, I'll bring you back in Thursday. If not, sorry, but I still promise to deal with him as best I can."

Ryuji didn't look at all happy about that, but he couldn't see any way around the logic of it. "Okay, it's just, every day we aren't doing something about it is another day he gets to torture those guys."

Rei laughed, finally starting on her salad. "Ryuji-kun, we're high school students. Be glad we can do anything at all."

* * *

"Hey, wanna hit the arcade?" Ryuji offered. "I mean - "

Rei shook her head. "Another time, maybe. I gotta get to LeBlanc, and with the subway down I'm walking today. All the way to Yongenjaya. It'll probably take me an hour."

Ryuji froze when a third voice, a girl, added itself to the conversation "Oh, I don't know, you could take a bus…" The girl stepped away from where she was leaning next to the diner's door, turning to the the pair to block their path. Her brown hair was kept neatly trimmed, well above the neck-line. She had piercing features, looking down slightly at Rei she gave the slightest impression of a raptor descending on its' prey with red eyes. "Amamiya Ren."

"Rei!" The named girl was surprised when it wasn't her that shouted it, but Ryuji. "Dammit, and I thought I was the stupid one! I woulda thought you'd know this stuff already, miss Student Council Prez."

'Student Council Prez' looked unimpressed. "Amamiya-kun, Principal Kobayakawa was _very_ specific with you, wasn't he?"

Rei sighed. "Seriously? He's siccing someone on me the _first day?_ And it's not against the rules to change out of your uniform after school."

"It is for you," the other girl said harshly. "After all, it would fall under the general code of immoral - "

Rei slapped her. The girl was so startled that she took a step back before her hands went up, ready to defend herself. Before Rei could follow up, though, Ryuji managed to stop the situation from getting any worse by stepping between them with a glare at the apparen't head of the Student Council. "That's a pretty serious charge, y'know. Especially one ta be making without any proof, Niijima."

"The proof's right here!" 'Niijima' said. "After all, what other purpose could there be for a boy to put on a dress right after school if he's not engaging in - "

Rei cut her off. " _Maybe_ I'm just more comfortable like this. I've got my uniform. Would you like to try it on? Oh, but we'd need a binder of some kind too. My sports bra won't fit you. We could stop by the drug store for bandages if you don't mind being scarred for life."

Niijima suddenly felt herself on the back foot. "Bandages?"

"To bind your breasts back. Bra's not going to cut it for you, not if you _really_ want to look like a boy," Rei practically snarled. "Of course, mine already hurt like hell by the end of the day. I'll probably get used to it, but I bet you'd be howling in agony."

Niijima swallowed, finally looking at Rei more closely. "Wait, you have -"

Rei rolled her eyes. "Yes, they're _real_ dammit!" There was a long moment between them, then Rei pushed past. "I gotta get going. Home, not to 'work.' If you want to check on that, I can't stop you, but it's four kay. Hope you don't mind a long walk."

Rei's wrist was suddenly caught. "We're not done talking, Mister."

Rei gave her a glare. "Then I hope you like walking."

* * *

Rei deliberately kept up a pace through the Tokyo streets that she thought would force this 'Niijima' to break off. She knew she couldn't put this off forever, but she hoped to manage it until tomorrow. But no such luck. She turned down the street into the narrow alleyways and looked over her shoulder. No longer needing to hide, Niijima had followed her at about five paces behind the whole time.

Niijima followed her past the batting cages, past the closed movie theater, and even on her heels when she went to the grocery store and picked up some eggs, coconuts, almonds, sugar, and baking chocolate. Rei sighed, and stopped as soon as she turned down the even more narrow alleyway. "Look, Niijima-san, this is ridiculous. You see this, you can't unsee it. And I just moved in, so I'm in no state to have company today. There's no sex clubs around here, and if you really looked up my info you know we're in the right place. Last. Chance."

"This is part of my student council duties too." The girl was staring at her resolutely.

Rei turned and finished walking, opening the door to Cafe Leblanc where Sojiro was tapping his foot. "I'm home. And I brought a guest."

"A _guest_!" Sojiro shouted at her. "This is too much, kid! I've gotta get home! We'll talk in the morning."

Rei nodded. "She's the Student Council president, and apparently she was sicced on me first thing in the morning." She took a seat. "I'll lock up after she leaves."

Sojiro scratched at the back of his head. "Dammit, kid, did you have to get changed?"

"I figured a family bathroom in Shibuya Station was safe! How was I supposed to know there was someone specifically following me to try to catch me in the act?" Rei shouted back. "Anyway, the principal convinced her I'm a sex worker or something, so…"

The door opened. "Excuse me, I'm Niijima Makoto," she said, bowing politely. "Are you this _boy's_ guardian?"

Sojiro stopped, and actually glared at Makoto in response. "I'm _her_ guardian, yes," he said. "I understand you have some questions, but I really have to be going soon."

Rei nodded, putting her things on the counter. "Basement's where the shower is, I live upstairs. Check quick."

Makoto nodded, going to the basement first. Rei counted off the steps up to the attic under her breath, and there was a scream of dismay. "This place is a dump!"

Rei gave Sojiro a quirked up smile but was careful to school her expression back to something resembling stoic when Makoto came back down. "This is the best a convict with a chronic medical condition can manage. So you can see why I didn't want you seeing that. I promise I'll spend Sunday cleaning it out, and I have some ideas for getting it livable, so please don't bring it up with the school." Makoto couldn't seem to decide whether to speak to Sojiro or Rei first, so Rei decided to cut it off. " _Honestly._ You got what the Principal wanted, right? You want to do more, come when we're open. Tomorrow morning, maybe."

Makoto gulped and nodded, bowing to Sojiro. "I'm very sorry to have bothered you."

When she was gone, Rei took a seat at the counter. "Got any curry left?" Sojiro stared at her. "What, you would just need to throw it out. And I think you're supposed to be feeding me anyway."

"Fair enough," Sojiro acknowledged, although he didn't put the time into presentation he probably would have for a paying customer, which Rei also acknowledged was fair. "Now, what was this about a bad app?"

Rei gulped. "My phone's got a virus, I think. It replaced the nav app with its' own, and it's terrible. I didn't figure it out till it tried to get me to buy a hundred-thousand-yen train ticket, and by that point I had no idea where I was. The police couldn't help either, because I was in the wrong district."

Sojiro wasn't amused, but at least he didn't snap. "You're already more trouble than you're worth, you know. I can't throw you out just for this, but you're really pushing it."

Rei nodded. "I hate to ask any more favors at this point, but I think you'll like this one. Can I borrow the oven in the morning? Before you get here."

Sojiro shook his head. "Since I won't be here, I guess I can't stop you. You'll do what you want anyway."

Rei grinned. "Thanks. I'm sure you won't regret it, Chief!"

Chapter Break


	3. Chapter 3

The Ambassador interrupted again. "Miss Amamiya, while this is fascinating, I'm not entirely certain what the point is to this lengthy explanation."

Rei sighed. "The truth is, it _is_ all connected sir. The Phantom Thieves, our contacts in society, in the underworld, everything was put together in these early days. Plus, the power of Persona is the power of relationships, strengthening and supporting the wielders."

There was a loud cough. "You mean to say, the power of friendship?"

"Corny, isn't it?" Rei laughed. "But...well, you'll see. Metaphors and concepts are what it's _all_ about."

* * *

Rei curled up under the sheet that served as her only privacy in the building. The chill of the March air forced her to sleep fully dressed, although she probably would have done that anyway under the circumstances. She twisted and turned in her sleep as the cold air curled around her, to her sleeping mind feeling like ghostly chains that slowly pulled her down to her bed in the Velvet Room. She 'awoke' to the asylum and slowly took in her surroundings. "Ugh. This dream again." She stood up, trying to shake out the straightjacket into something a little more comfortable.

She jumped as the door to her cell was rattled by Caroline's baton slamming against it. "Quiet! Our Master wishes to speak with you, Patient!"

"It's for your own sake that you take his words to heart," Justine added, making a note on her clipboard.

Rei concluded there was nothing to be gained by fighting this time and turned her attention obediently to the man. "Welcome back. Let us celebrate our reunion." He gave her a very careful looking over, followed by a broad smile. "I see you've awakened to your powers...and very special ones, at that. Your rehabilitation can finally begin."

Rei shook out her head. "You mentioned something about that last time, too. I thought my parole was supposed to be about that, but I get the feeling you've got something else in mind."

Igor laughed. "You _are_ a clever one. Let's just say that coming to terms with your role is also a part of your rehabilitation, Trickster." He became more serious. "You will be training in the power of Persona."

Rei started to pace as best as she could in the confined space, until Caroline slammed the bars again. "Hey!"

The little girl glared at her. "Show our Master proper respect!"

Rei growled. "Pacing helps me think...but if you insist." She looked to Igor. "Okay, so, growing up I had to spend some time with a psychiatrist." It was actually a great deal, but she didn't bother telling him that. He probably knew anyway. "I've heard the word before, but can you remind me?"

"The Persona is a 'mask' of sorts - the armor that protects your true self when confronting worldly matters," Igor said by way of an explanation.

Rei thought about that. "And in the Metaverse, things like that become a great deal more literal." She took a deep breath. "What do you _want_?"

Igor laughed. "There is no need for concern. You will learn when the time comes. In the meantime, I am content to merely observe your progress." Suddenly, he changed topics. "Have you come to appreciate the Metaverse Navigator? It will be a powerful tool on your path to becoming a thief."

Rei blinked. " _Wait, that crazy app was_ what am I saying? Of course you did it."

Igor chuckled. "With the Metaverse Navigator, you can travel between the real world and the Metaverse. Your primary use for it will be to explore Palaces, but I expect you will discover other functions in time." Igor seemed to consider her again. "It must be disheartening to make use of it alone, however. If there are others who would prove useful to you, you need only ask and I will grant it to them, as well. This is all so that you might grow to be a most excellent thief."

Rei was about to reply to that, when she heard the sound of a bell ringing. Caroline immediately followed that with her own pronouncement. "Looks like time's up today, Patient. Get some rest for your next session."

Justine made another note. "Please take care to make good use of the Navigator. It's a gift from our Master, after all."

Suddenly, Rei felt incredibly tired, as if she'd just been given a heavy shot of morphine. She stumbled, fell back onto the padded floor, and knew no more for the rest of the night.

* * *

When Makoto opened up the door to Cafe LeBlanc, she was surprised. In addition to the strangely alluring combination of coffee and curry, there was something sweeter in the air. When she looked around, she noticed that Rei, already in her school uniform, was busy portioning a number of small, chocolate-dipped macaroons onto wax paper. "Wait, you can make stuff like that?"

"Well, I like them, and I couldn't get them back home," Rei said. "I used to come to Tokyo a lot for medical checkups, but if I wanted them any time, I had to figure out how to make them myself." She nodded to Sojiro. "Anyway, he's skeptical, so you've been recruited."

"Huh?"

Sojiro chuckled. "What the kid _means_ is that you get to be the judge." He put down a cup of coffee next to one of the sweets. "Coffee's on the house, this time. But you gotta try the thing too."

Rei just smiled. "It's called a 'Macaroon,' Chief."

Makoto sipped the coffee first, before she picked up the macaroon carefully, afraid it might still be hot, and bit into it, chewing thoughtfully. "It's a bit sweet, isn't it?"

Rei shrugged. "It's supposed to be, but that's why you have it with the coffee."

Makoto took another sip of the coffee. "That is much better, yes. Although I'd definitely say the coffee deserves center stage, I can see where there might be a point to selling these as well."

Rei grinned at Sojiro, who actually laughed. "Okay, you win. I'll put up a sign, and you get a cut."

"Thanks," Rei said gratefully. "Whatever you think is fair. I just don't feel right not helping out at all, but I'm busy with school." She turned to Makoto. "So. You showed up. I'm guessing you've got questions."

Makoto shook her head. "After I left I looked into the matter a little more thoroughly online. I just…" She swallowed. "This is hard for me. I wanted to apologize."

Rei nodded and stood up. Makoto had to suppress her surprise at the sudden change that came over the girl. Even though it was just a change of posture, suddenly everything feminine disappeared and she looked like almost any other male student of Shuujin. "Very well," she said, her voice suddenly very formal. "We are going to be late, though. The trains are working again?"

Makoto tried again as soon as they were out of the door. "I...I really am sorry. It's just that I saw you hanging out with Sakamoto, and after everything I was told…"

Rei shook her head. "I'm...I'm sorry too," she said. "It's just...if I don't talk like this as 'Ren' I slip and someone can catch on something's wrong."

Makoto nodded. "It's because formal is more gender-neutral than casual forms, right? And...and don't worry. I won't tell anyone about your secret."

"Thank you."

Neither of them noticed a black cat with white markings following them.

* * *

Actually showing up on time seemed to surprise everyone in the school, but the whispers from yesterday continued. The only thing Rei was grateful for was that they seemed to have died down a bit, but that just meant some of the more macho guys were probably building up their courage.

She was under no illusions. She wasn't the smallest 'boy' in school but she was damn close, and with her record even an actual block might be taken as fighting. When they got up to the second floor, even Makoto was looking nervous. She knew full well the only thing keeping problems at bay was the presence of another power in the school. Finally, Makoto looked over at her meaningfully. "Are you going to be fine on your own?"

Rei seriously considered taking the implied offer, but shook her head. She lowered her voice, and let herself slip out of the Ren persona. "I have to deal with it sooner or later. Anyone I should seriously be looking out for?"

"If you're as experienced as the paperwork says, probably not," Makoto conceded. "I could probably challenge you."

Rei brightened up at that. "Wanna spar some time? Informal, of course. Can't set foot in a real dojo 'till my probation's up."

Makoto grinned. "Sure. I think I'm looking forward to that, as long as you don't play too rough."

"It's Kyokushin," Rei said deadpan. "I'm just lucky blunt-force trauma doesn't leave a mark, usually. No compound fractures yet, either."

Makoto chuckled. "Well, Aikido's almost as rough. No burn marks from the mats, though."

Rei nodded. "Looking forward to it, then."

Makoto nodded. "By the way, I understand that Sakamoto-san helped you out, but maybe you shouldn't be quite as public in hanging out with him."

"Thanks, but no thanks," Rei said with a shake of her head. "He accepted things right away. That's _rare_." She lowered her voice again. "Thanks for ensuring I made it to school on time this morning. I don't believe I'll have any further trouble." She bowed. "You have business before classes start, correct?"

Makoto nodded and returned the bow. "You're welcome. My door is always open to students who are having trouble."

Rei went down the hallway in the opposite direction. She still heard the whispers, but now they'd changed. ' _First Sakamoto, now Niijima. What's the deal with this guy?'_ seemed to be the gist of it, and she couldn't quite help a smile when she reached the classroom, stopping to look at the notice board.

She felt two people come up behind her, but didn't realize in time they weren't even going to make a pretense of intimidating her before proceeding to the beating, and in full view of the hallway! She was slammed hard into the wall, arm twisted behind her. "Not so tough, are ya?"

Rei growled under her breath, but managed to keep to the 'Ren' voice. "I can't believe you are this stupid. One teacher comes out and - "

"They won't do nothing," the boy said, with the affected air of a punk. "Not to the best Volleyball team in the country."

Rei felt her lips twist up. While he was talking, he had stopped focusing on holding her down. One quick motion later, and the boy was spinning around while Rei was free. She was about to say something, when she felt another, much bigger, presence behind her.

"That's enough, boys. Break it up." It was Kamoshida. "I taught you better than this."

"But...but Coach!" The boy who had been manhandling her tried to protest, but Kamoshida raised up a hand as if to backhand the boy and he went quiet.

"We'll talk about this at practice," Kamoshida said, and the two of them fled.

Rei still didn't turn around, not really wanting to admit that she felt slightly grateful to the man. "Thank you, Sensei," she said, before trying to hurry past him into the classroom.

Kamoshida leaned in and whispered in her ear. "You should know that Principal Kabayokawa told _all_ the teachers about your little secret. Don't worry, girl," Rei froze, not just at the word, but at the sudden presence of his hand rubbing across the small of her back through the uniform. "There's a special restroom in the southwest corner of the gym. Use that to change." Rei swallowed and nodded, not trusting her voice. "Well, seeya in gym. Just a shame you won't be able to join the team!"

* * *

It wasn't hard for Rei to slip back into the act after that. Ren didn't have to worry about things like that happening to him. Ren was a boy, boys didn't...She took her seat stiffly, not wanting to let any of those thoughts take hold. For a moment, she thought she'd successfully hid the sudden rollercoaster her emotions were on, but Ann turned and stared at her with a concerned expression. "Are you _all right?_ "

"Wh-what makes you ask that, Takamaki-san?" Rei asked, even more stiffly than she usually would have.

Ann raised an eyebrow. "There was a loud noise outside. Oh, and your hand's shaking."

"Is...is that so…?" Rei asked, quickly shoving it into her desk as if to retrieve the math book for her first period class.

Ann's lip quirked slightly. "Amamiya, we have Japanese History first period, not math."

"Oh, is that so?" Rei repeated, not sure what else to say.

Ann looked at her a few moments longer. "Are you sure you shouldn't go to the nurses' office? You're really not looking well."

Rei nodded. "Definitely not after yesterday. I'll. . . I shouldn't talk about it here. Can you meet me after school?"

Ann sighed. "Sorry, not today. I've got work."

"Th..that's fine. Another time maybe."

* * *

As soon as the lunch bell rang, Rei stood up shakily and made her way to the Student Council room. She was in luck, as Makoto was already standing outside. "Niijima...you...you said I could come to you if there was a problem." She didn't even bother with the 'Ren' voice now. "Is there somewhere private we can discuss things? The second years have gym after lunch, and...and…"

Makoto swallowed back her immediate response. "Uhh...I'm not sure there's anywhere like that…"

Rei gulped. "The roof?"

Makoto was about to point out it was off limits, but something in Rei's eyes told her that that wasn't the correct response. "Yeah. I've got the keys."

It turned out the roof was off-limits for good reason. At any normal school, it would have been kept well-maintained by the students, but here it had been turned into a dumping ground. Old desks, probably once repairable but now long past that due to rain damage, were stacked up in a corner. There were also some waterlogged gym mats, an old shopping cart of all things, and a couple of very uncomfortable looking chairs. The roof tiles were chipped and coming loose, and the HVAC equipment had absolutely no protections to keep a student up there from messing around, probably to their detriment. Even the fence around the edge was rusting.

Rei didn't care about any of that. As soon as the door was closed, the entire story started spilling from her mouth. Makoto listened silently, wishing she'd insisted on accompanying Rei, until the end. "Then...then...he put his hand on me. It...I…"

Makoto felt her stomach drop out of her. "No...not...not Kamoshida-sensei! I don't believe it!"

Rei just stared at her. "What?"

"That's...that's just not possible!" Makoto was breathing harder. "He...he's done everything for this school!"

Rei tried to formulate a response to that, when they heard another voice at the door. "Hey, Amamiya, ya up here?" It was Ryuji. "Heard you were coming up with - oh." His voice died the second he saw that Makoto was, indeed, present. "Uhh...this a bad time?"

Rei threw her arms around Ryuji and let out a sob. Ryuji didn't quite seem to know how to respond to that, so he put one arm around Rei to try to comfort her while he thought about it. "Geez, what the hell did you do to her last night?!"

"Wasn't…" Rei gasped out. "Wasn't her. Ka-ka-ka-"

Ryuji's expression darkened. "Kamoshida."

"There's no sense blaming others for your mistakes, Sakamoto-san." Makoto said.

"ARGH!" Ryuji screamed. His free hand gestured to the still-sniffling Rei emphatically "Are you _kidding me?_ This ain't what _nothing_ looks like!"

Makoto swallowed again. "I...I didn't mean...I'm sure something happened, but…"

"I'm...I'm sorry." Rei said, finally pulling it together a little. "I just...I wasn't expecting it. Not right then, in the middle of the hallway…" She shook her head. "It was through the uniform. I couldn't say anything, especially because…"

"Yeah, that'd fit," Ryuji grumbled. "He doesn't like guys who fight back."

Makoto shook her head. "I'm not so sure I believe it...and if it was just that...according to the school, you're a boy. If it was any other teacher, maybe, but...but...Kamoshida?!"

"What...what's the big deal?" Rei asked with a sniffle. "How can _any_ teacher get away with...with…"

Ryuji tried to answer, but Makoto held up a hand. "No offense, Sakamoto-san, but Rei deserves an objective answer. I'm a _little_ more inclined to believe your version of events after this, but you're still biased." She reached over and put her hand on Rei's shoulder, gently pulling her away from Ryuji to look her in the eye. "Rei-chan, ever since Kamoshida was recruited by the school, things have been a lot better around here. He was on the Olympic volleyball team and won the gold medal for Japan back in 2006. We were very lucky to get him. He could be making a whole lot more money coaching the current Olympic team, but instead he's taking our school team all the way to the National level."

Rei nodded, understanding. With that kind of recognition, the school's fees could be set at astronomical rates. Books would be replaced, lab equipment updated, club budgets could be expanded, and they might even attract talent in other areas. "He's. . . he's the goose that laid the golden egg,"

"Huh? Can't say I know that one," Ryuji said.

Rei giggled. "It's an old picture book. In the story, this goose laid gold eggs, literally. But eventually, idiots wanted to get all the golden eggs out of the goose and killed it, only that isn't how eggs work."

Ryuji nodded. "Gotcha. Except in this case the goose molests girls."

Makoto sighed. "I guess so. But there's nothing I can do. We need more proof, and I don't even know where to start looking."

Rei swallowed. "I...I might. If you can meet me in the alleyway right after school, I'll take you to meet someone. You're not going to believe this if I don't show you." She held up a hand. "You'll have plenty of time to get Student Council stuff done after, since I have to go home today."

Ryuji looked down at the girl, taking a step back from Rei to let her wipe off her face with a handkerchief. "You sure we should bring her in on this?"

Rei looked up and gave him a nod. "It's a risk, but…"

Ryuji didn't know how to respond to that.

* * *

Rei allowed herself to grin in satisfaction at seeing Makoto waiting uncomfortably in the middle of the alleyway, as instructed. She walked up and gave her a quick bow. "Right. So, just so you can't claim I tricked you, first, go back the other way and verify the school's still there."

Makoto gave her a skeptical look, but did as she was told. "O-kay. As expected, the school is still there."

Rei nodded. "Now, this seems obvious, but you're sure no matter how times we repeat that, it'll be the same?" When Makoto just made an exasperated noise, Rei activated the strange app on her phone. "Now, what if I told you that the story about the bad nav app was true, sort of? It did take me to the wrong Shujin Academy….but one in the right _place?"_ Makoto raised an eyebrow. Rei nodded, then carefully checked to make sure no one else was around. "Sorry, this is gonna give you a bit of a headache," Rei warned her, then spoke to the phone. "Nav. Kamoshida. Shujin Academy. Castle."

" _Match Found. Beginning Navigation,_ " the phone said helpfully, and then the world shifted.

Makoto put her hand to her forehead with a wince and a groan. Rei had been expecting to feel the same, but this time the pain was lessened. "...must be something you get used to," Rei conjectured. "Okay, you all right?"

"Y-yeah. What was that?" Makoto asked as she recovered.

"Well, why don't you tell me?" Rei said mischievously. "Head back to the end of the alleyway again." Makoto started walking, and Rei counted the steps before the scream, jogging up behind her.

Makoto was pointing at the castle, which, as Rei predicted, had replaced the school. "What. The Hell. Is _THAT?_ "

Rei chuckled. "That, Niijima-sama, is the mind of our esteemed gym teacher, made real." Makoto's eyes took on a distinctly glazed look. Rei decided that was the cue to push it a little further. "Actually, that's not all. Let's see if I can do this on demand or if I need to be in danger." She closed her eyes, and a puff of smoke obscured her body for a moment. When it cleared, her costume from the previous day had reappeared, complete with mask. She smirked at the way Makoto's jaw dropped. "Yeah, see why you had to see this to believe it?"

Makoto took a step back. "What's going on? Why do you have that knife? Where _is_ everyone?!"

Rei blinked. "Oh, the knife?" She pulled it out, then flipped it over in her hand to offer it to Makoto, handle-first. "Sorry, forgot for a second I'd have it on me too." When Makoto, reluctantly, took it from her, she continued. "This place is called the Metaverse. I admit I don't know too much about it yet, but this bit in particular...well, it's just as I said. The castle in front of you is a literal manifestation of the contents of Kamoshida's mind. So far, I know about the bedroom on the second floor, the existence of a harem somewhere else, and the dungeons. I can also infer the existence of a torture chamber or three from the sounds of screaming in the dungeon."

Makoto nodded. "So this is why you were late yesterday?"

"Yeah," Rei said. "I didn't actually mean to, and there's a lot I don't know. But I expect you have a lot of questions, and I'm not really the person to answer them. Follow me, and _stay close._ " Rei walked up to the drawbridge leading to the entrance. "The courtyard's safe, but Kamoshida's here too. Well, not the _real_ one, but his mental self's in charge of this place. We don't want to run into him."

"Why not?" Makoto asked, following as instructed.

Rei glanced at her. "Well, one, he tried to kill Ryuji, throw me in his harem, then kill me when I wasn't instantly enchanted by him. Two, he's only wearing a speedo."

Makoto made a disgusted face. "That...was more than I needed to know."

"It makes it easy to tell the two versions apart," Rei half-joked. "Anyway, it's not all bad news. There may be someone around here who can tell you more. You seem pretty sharp, so maybe you'll have better questions to ask. Just remember, Makoto, I can bring you here, but so far as I know you don't have the special powers needed to actually accomplish much."

Makoto glared. "Then why bring me here at all?"

It was a fair question, one Rei answered with "Well...honestly, you're not just 'pretty sharp', you're probably smarter than I am. I'm hoping if you talk with Morgana, you can figure out the best way to go about exploring this place."

Makoto nodded her understanding thoughtfully. "I suppose it's already occurred to you that any evidence you can find in here isn't admissible to the Principal, or the courts, right?"

"Of course," Rei said. "But it's all I've got, and maybe if we find the harem we can figure out the other victims on the girls' side. Just don't land there yourself. Better yet, don't go past the courtyard, and if you see anyone, run for it."

Makoto considered, then held the knife back out slowly. "You need this, right?"

Rei took it with a grin. "Couldn't hurt." Once she'd resheathed it, she looked to the Palace. "If this all goes horribly wrong, I'm sorry in advance."

Another voice shouted from behind them. "What are you _doing?_ " Behind them was Morgana rushing to catch up. "Rei-san, why did you bring someone _else_ here?! Yeesh, we can't protect her too!"

Rei sighed. "That's not the plan. I'm sorry, Morgana, but I've got business in the real world today. That's why I brought Niijima-san here." She looked at the other girl.

Makoto backed slowly away, towards the Palace's door. "A-a-a cat monster!"

Morgana jumped up and down in place. "NO! I'm _human!_ "

Rei blinked. "Uhh…" She looked Morgana up and down carefully. "I don't have long, but...uh, well…"

"I don't know how this happened," Morgana said, his voice falling into depression. "I...honestly, I don't remember _much_ after I went into the depths of the Metaverse. But never mind that." He pointed at Rei. "What about the deal we made!"

"Yeah," Rei said. "About that. Like I said, today I can't, because of all the trouble I got in the first time." Morgana snorted. "This is my way of showing I'm acting in good faith. After the first time I was _exhausted._ I was barely holding together with Adler. If you really want me to help you out, I'm gonna need training."

Morgana nodded. "Well, that's true."

"...and it turns out, I need to go back in there," Rei said, pointing. "So….how about you train me on this place?"

Morgana grinned. "Sounds good...but where does she fit in?"

"I would like to know too." Makoto added.

Rei grinned. "Put simply, then? Morgana, you've spent more time in this place than I have. Makoto's wicked smart. Put your heads together when you have time and come up with a plan of attack. We need to find evidence about the sexual harassment committed by the owner of this Palace. Kamoshida."

Makoto nodded. "Okay, that makes sense. But Morgana, can you even go to the real world?"

"Hmph, just shows what you know." Morgana said with an arrogant smirk. "I don't even need a phone anymore. Follow me."

Makoto and Rei shrugged at each other, and followed the spirit through the gates of the school and back into the alleyway. The world seemed to shift on them, and then, suddenly, Morgana was a cat. Visibly the same cat, if cats routinely changed shape like that, with bright blue eyes, and completely covered in black fur save for his chin and paws, which were completely white. "Don't say it," he said, before they could. "When I came to the real world I looked like this. But I _was_ human, I know it!"

Rei blinked. "Wait, so in the depths of the Metaverse you can have your _shape changed?_ " she asked, being very sure to enunciate each word carefully. "I mean, if this happened to you there, then is it something that could be done deliberately?"

It was Morgana's turn to blink in surprise. "Uhh...I guess it could be done. But why would you want to be a cat?"

But by this point Rei wasn't listening. She was skipping - _skipping -_ off. Makoto thought she looked like she might just burst out into song. "Remember! You've got to keep up the act until you change your clothes!"

Rei immediately froze. "Oh. Right. Sorry. Anyway, you two got this?" They both made affirmative noises, and Rei headed off.

Morgana looked up to Makoto as soon as Rei was out of sight. "Anyway, wasn't she a girl?"

* * *

By the time she had gotten back to Yongenjaya, her mood had deflated quite a bit. Reaching the depths of the Metaverse was clearly going to be a long-term project, if she couldn't handle a ten minute run through that castle. And even if she could, dealing with the law the way it was, with her criminal record, would likely be beating her head against a brick wall until she was 20. It probably wouldn't get her out of the male uniform either, as long as the idiot Principal Kobayakawa was still in charge.

Also, there was the problem of her room. Sojiro hadn't bothered to give her any extra cleaning supplies, which meant _yet another_ dip into her savings. Sure, for a high school student she had a lot of money just laying around, but she had been _saving that_ , dammit. And a lot of it was actually her dad's, just to make it worse. Every single yen spent without making it up somewhere was progress lost.

At least she had the prospect of baking, and the macaroons would keep for a few days. She didn't expect that sideline to take off right away, but if it did maybe she could offset her expenses enough that this year wouldn't be completely awful. If it _really_ took off she could even see getting ahead a bit, but that seemed unlikely.

Laden down with various cleaners, a bucket, and a mop on top of more ingredients, she barely managed to work the handle to LeBlanc's door and nearly stumbled on the way through. "I'm home!"

Sojiro's reaction was a dropped jaw. "Geez, kid, if you'd needed stuff you could have asked." Rei gulped. "Yeah, okay, just leave whatever's leftover under the sink and I'll pay you back." He jerked his head meaningfully to one of the booths. "Anyway, you know this punk?"

Rei had to shift her supplies to look, where she noticed a rather familiar head of spikey blond hair, the head it was attached to turning around to look at her. "Yo! Niijima said you could use a hand, and I'm not doing anything after school these days."

Rei flashed him a huge smile. "That'll be a big help. Thanks." She turned around to Sojiro. "Get this guy some coffee and a sweet while I change? On me." Sojiro raised an eyebrow. "Pull it out of my check?"

Sojiro nodded. "I didn't sell too many, but they seem more popular with the afternoon crowd. You've got enough for that." Rei turned her attention to the pile. It wasn't untouched, but Sojiro definitely hadn't sold as many of the macaroons as she'd hoped. "Sorry, kid. Got some requests, though. Didn't know what to make of it, but if you've got some other recipes in your head we can give those a try."

Rei nodded. "I can probably manage something."

A few minutes later, Rei was in an old shirt and sweatpants, and Ryuji was staring shock at the absolute mess. "Man, you actually _sleep_ here."

"Just for the past couple of days, yeah," Rei said. "Anyway, this was gonna take me all night, but now that you're here we can at least get the trash cleaned out before Sojiro locks up."

Ryuji gave her another unbelieving look. "He locks you in every night, too? Do ya at least have a computer?"

"I wish," Rei muttered. "I had a decent desktop back home but I left it behind. All my homework gets done by hand."

Ryuji nodded. "Yeah, well, lucky you Shujin hasn't gotten with the times yet. No server, so all the homework's offline. Principal says it's 'traditional'."

Rei snorted. "So much for Kamoshida's sexual harassment improving the lives of students, huh? Wonder what kind of a paycheck he pockets."

"Think we could use the Metaverse to find out?" Ryuji asked.

Rei thought about it. "We can find out if it's possible now, maybe," She said, pulling out her phone and pushing the button for the Metaverse Nav. "Principal Kabayokawa,"

The app took a moment, then came back with a cheerful " _Potential match found,"_

Ryuji grinned. "Awesome! Know how to make it do the rest?"

Rei peered at the screen. "It says it needs a . . . location, and a 'distortion.' Whatever that is. We should probably hold off and ask Morgana about that." She backed out of the navigator. She looked at Ryuji again. "To be honest, this thing makes me a little nervous."

"Yeah." Ryuji said with a defeated tone. "This thing's too weird. I just don't wanna have to rely on that cat, y'know?"

Rei bent over to start picking up trash. "Well, unless you know someone else, our choices are 'depend on Morgana' or 'try to figure this out on our own.' Strange as this sounds, I'd rather have the cat with the machete as backup. Makoto-chan's really nice too."

"Yeah, that's kinda weird." Ryuji started to get to work as well. "Don't suppose you're any good with tech."

"Baking, yes, tech no." Rei grinned. "Believe me, I didn't hack together an app that breaks the rules of physics. No idea where that thing came from."

Ryuji chuckled. "Well, it's just...I've got a virus."

Rei gulped. "Weird app?" She pulled her phone back out and showed Ryuji the icon.

"Oh, cool!" Ryuji's reaction was no what she had expected. "This is great! Maybe I've got one of those Persona things after all!"

Rei nodded. "We can ask Morgana how you get one next time we see him. He's with Makoto now." She smirked. "Now, let's get to it. No more cognitive world weirdness today!"

* * *

By the time the cafe closed, the two of them had at least cleared most of the trash out. The books were neatly placed on the shelf, even if there was nothing resembling organization. The boxes were in the basement, and there was enough space to actually set some things up. "Whew." Rei said with a smile. "I still need to mop and dust and so on, but this is a great start." She turned to her new friend. "Thanks. Seriously, I couldn't have gotten this much done without you."

That got a simple "Don't mention it," while Ryuji was picking up his book bag. "Oh, yeah, I almost forgot." He pulled out a small brown paper bag and tossed it to her. "I heard about this place in Shibuya. I know you're tight for money, and I couldn't let you go back without doing _something_ to help out." He lowered his voice. "Don't let the boss catch you with that."

Rei narrowed her eyes suspiciously, and felt the weight. Whatever it was, it was _heavy._ Slowly, she opened the package. Inside was a shining chrome handgun. Rei would be the first to admit, even as a country girl, she didn't know much about weapons that weren't practiced by her own branch of karate, but this thing looked and felt real. "Are you _crazy?!_ I'm a criminal!" she whispered harshly. "If I get caught with this thing it's curtains!"

"Relax," Ryuji grinned, but it was a very nervous one. "It's not real. Just don't go flashing it at school or trying to get through a checkpoint. But that weird, fake Kamoshida don't know that. And it's even got a realistic sound effect, so maybe you can scare some of those Shadow things or something."

Rei forced herself to calm down. It _wasn't_ actually a terrible idea, and he probably didn't know the kinds of restrictions she was under. Besides, if she couldn't find a hiding spot in the attic she could just ditch it somewhere and tell Ryuji she lost it in the Metaverse. "Sorry. Thank you. I'll make good use of it."

* * *

The next morning, Rei yawned and grabbed the cup of coffee Sojiro put in front of her. "Keep trying with the Macaroons for today," she mumbled. "They'll keep till Thursday, then half-price'em for a day and I'll throw them out after you close."

"Well, they're yours," Sojiro said. "Just remember that they reflect on me if they're no good." He picked one up and popped it into his mouth. "Eh, you're probably right."

The TV's news broadcaster was the only one speaking in the room for awhile while Rei slowly woke herself up. Eventually, though, the story caught her attention. "In other news, authorities report that the subway accident in Shibuya station two days ago was the result of a psychotic break. The driver of the train claims he could not recall his actions. We have received a report that he's died in custody."

Rei felt her blood run cold for a moment.

Sojiro shook his head. "Another one? Seems like you can't turn on the news lately without something like that happening." He saw Rei's expression. "Hey, you all right?" Then he remembered. "Oh, yeah, you were down there. Sorry. Should I put it on cartoons or something? Just till customers come in."

Rei shook her head. "I'm sixteen. I can handle it."

* * *

Makoto and Ryuji ran up to Rei at the Shibuya station while she was waiting. It was an odd enough sight that Rei noticed several other students eyeing them while they were panting. "Uh, hey guys," she said nervously. "What's up?"

"I totally forgot there's a volleyball rally today!" Ryuji gasped out.

Makoto was a little more reserved. "All the classes are going to have to play against Kamoshida and the other teachers. I...I managed to get 2-D first in the lineup." Rei stared at her uncomprehendingly. "Classes are canceled for the rally?" Makoto tried to explain again.

"...gotcha. I can head to the Metaverse after the match, right?" Rei said, finally getting it. "Thanks."

Morgana stuck his head out of Makoto's book bag. "Wooooah! Hard to breathe in there!"

Rei gave Makoto an incredulous look. "Well, he can't go on the subway without a human like this."

"Okay, that's true." Rei conceded. "Did you come up with anything?"

Morgana gave Rei a long look. "Yeah. We decided you're being waaaay too cautious."

Makoto glared at Morgana. " _You_ decided she was being too cautious. I'm not exactly arguing, but there's something to be said for thinking things through." She looked at Rei. "I think we should both go in today."

"WHAT?!" Ryuji shouted. "No way! If you're going, I'm going!"

Rei hung her head. "I could have told you he'd say that." She turned her attention back to Morgana. "Is it safe to bring them both? I mean, obviously it's not completely safe, but…"

Morgana hmmed. "Well, as long as Blondie there can keep his trap shut, things should have calmed down by now. You really stirred up the hornet's nest the other day."

Rei nodded. "Okay. Now, _why_ the hell should I let both of you come?" They both stared at her incredulously. "I was already kind of iffy on letting _one_ of you follow us around, but both of you...you know what's going to happen if something goes wrong, right? Death...or worse?"

"I...I know," Makoto said quietly. "Rei, there's something you need to know. I didn't just follow you to the diner the other day by accident." Rei's look back screamed 'I knew that' so Makoto went on. "You see…"

* * *

Makoto was standing in the Principal's office, watching the man pace in his yellow suit. "It's an outrage, that a boy like that's being foisted on us. I'd have refused if I could have, but...well, it's for the school's reputation. You understand that, right, Niijima?"

Makoto nodded. "Absolutely, sir. We can't let that sort of thing go on under the Shujin name." Then, she hesitated. "If that's what's going on. Do you have proof?"

Kabayokawa glared at her. "That's what you're here for. The one thing I couldn't find in the record was direct evidence of sex work. Of course, it was a small town, so they don't have anything organized. I'm sure he was just going to homes or something."

Makoto felt her stomach drop. "But you don't know that for sure."

"What other explanation is there?!" the man roared at her, before coughing. "Sorry. It's just very important that he understand that his delusions hold no weight here. He is a boy, he will behave like one, and he will _be_ one by the end of this year if it's the last thing we do."

"Yes, sir." Makoto said with a slight bow of acknowledgement. "I'll ensure he understands the situation."

"No." Kobayakawa said with definite finality. "Catch him in the act first. That way we can hold it over him, or kick him out if he insists on continuing to defy the school." Makoto hesitated, so he added, in an almost conversational tone, "I'm sure it wouldn't look good for you if your Letter of Recommendation were to come from a school with a freak like that known to be attending….if you even get one."

Makoto got the message. "Yes, sir."

* * *

Rei slammed her face into her hand so hard it nearly disrupted the careful work on her hair. "Two of them."

Ryuji's reaction far less restrained. "That _bastard._ "

"I know." Makoto said with a sigh. "I'm really sorry, Rei-chan. I'm going to need to report to him today, and I'd like something to distract him. This Kamoshida issue would do nicely, but we need the proof before the volleyball rally is over. Otherwise, I'll have to tell him the truth. He's...not going to like that."

"Just because I'm a transgirl, he's convinced I'm a slut and a whore," Rei said with a sigh. "Well, just tell him the truth, then. Other than putting on dresses and taking hormones, you can't find any evidence of unusual behavior for a boy. I go straight home, or as close to it as I can get, every day so far. I'm looking for a part time job at the flower shop, I bake for the cafe I'm living at, and I'm locked in at 5 pm sharp when it closes. Problem solved."

"I hope so," Makoto said.

* * *

"Ren, can I talk to you?" Ann was seriously looking concerned as Rei passed her desk. "Seriously, I'm sorry for brushing you off yesterday, but I really need to know now."

Rei took her seat. "I said I can't risk discussing it at school."

"Will you drop the formal stuff and have an honest conversation?" Ann grumbled. "Seriously, I want to help!"

Rei raised an eyebrow. "Do you wish to help, or do you wish _me_ to help?"

Ann started, the words like a slap across the face, but then she thought about it. "Maybe...both, I dunno."

Rei softened just a bit. She leaned in to whisper to the blonde. "I believe Niijima-san has left the roof unlocked. There won't be much time to explain the situation, so I will have to do something that will shock you. I have something...scheduled during the rally, so we will have to handle this after.

* * *

As the bell rang, Rei made her way to the 'special' bathroom Kamoshida had pointed out to her. _Ugh, I just wish it wasn't_ his _advice...but it is good._ She _did_ make sure the door was locked - and, for good measure, subtly pushed the wastebasket into the door's path so if someone came in everyone around would be alerted. _No sense taking any chances._ Then she checked that thought. "Dammit, Rei, you're being paranoid." She pulled on the gym uniform and double-checked her hair as quickly as she could.

It turned out she didn't need to worry. Ryuji was already waiting when she got out. "Figured you could use a lookout after yesterday."

Rei quirked her lip up slightly. "This was Makoto-chan's idea, wasn't it?"

"Well, uh...she may have mentioned you'd be nervous about Kamoshida tryin' something," Ryuji said with a slight stammer. "But I did offer to watch before she asked."

Rei chuckled. "Thanks. No, really. So much for a quiet year, huh?" She looked around cautiously. "You on your class team?"

"Nah, and I was gonna skip before all this came up," Ryuji confirmed. "Especially with my leg, y'know."

Rei wisely didn't comment. "Okay. Where's Morgana?"

"Hiding in the Student Council room, for now. Makoto's doing some last minute setup, but she'll let him out during the first match." Ryuji explained.

Rei shook her head. "We need a better solution than this, but for today it'll have to do. Anyway, A classmate's of mine is almost ready to spill, so don't go saying anything about the Metaverse on the rooftop just yet. I have an idea, but I'd rather not bring anyone _else_ into that aspect if we don't have to."

"Gotcha," the boy suddenly reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Rei-chan. This is getting bad. Are you sure we shouldn't just, y'know...do this with the Metaverse?"

Rei stared at him, a part of her not sure she heard that correctly.

Ryuji looked around. "That Kamoshida, the other one. You knocked him out and the real one went home for the day. What happens if, y'know, you just stab him?"

Rei swallowed. "I...I have no idea."

"I guess...it's something to think about, yeah?" Ryuji muttered. "It's not like he's not gonna do bad things to you sooner or later. It's self defense."

Rei swallowed. "It's...it's not off the table anymore." That was all she could say. "We'll ask Morgana."

Ryuji nodded. "We'll see. In the meantime, don't go anywhere alone, okay?" He grinned. "You're the best chance we've got at taking the bastard down, right?"

"Ass," Rei said playfully, punching his arm.


	4. Chapter 4

The class had categorically refused to let 'Ren' on the team, a decision that suited Rei just fine. She sat on the ground in the long pants of the uniform, gently hugging her knees to her chest. Per his promise, Ryuji had sat down next to her, and then Makoto took up a seat on the other side. Rei gave her a nod, the most the quiet 'Ren' would do under the circumstances, and they watched.

The teachers were elated, of course. With Kamoshida playing for them, they were winning without any effort. Which made sense. Only three of the boys in her class were regular players, and (Rei noted with some annoyance) all three of them were injured. But none more than the small, quiet one she'd noted the first day of class. He was trying to hide a limp, which, she was sure, would just result in permanent harm down the line.

Everyone focused at the next whistle, though. Except the quiet one. He just seemed to slump and took a step back as the ball was served to the team.

Rei suddenly felt, as much as saw, the brief flash of anger on Kamoshida's face when the ball was spiked back in his direction. Skipping the usual bump, he simply returned the ball with a spike at his full power. It rocketed over the net, aimed true at the boy's face. He had no time to dodge or set up a return. He took it squarely, knocked back and off his feet.

Rei counted to three, and realized he wasn't moving. "Makoto! First aid kit on the wall there!" She ran onto the court, checking the boy's neck for signs of injury before gently rolling him over. _No bleeding, continued loss of consciousness, no obvious fever, breathing seems shallow to me but it's been awhile…_ she began running through the symptoms in her head. "Hey, hey, can you hear me?"

The boy didn't answer her at all. Makoto brought the small case over to her. She opened it up, looking through it. "Dammit, gimmie your smart phone." Makoto blinked, but handed it over. Rei thumbed on the flashlight and looked at his eyes. _Same size...can't remember if they're dilated or not…_ She opened his mouth to check the throat, pulling out his mouthguard in the process.

"Hey!" Kamoshida yelled, suddenly all concern. "Hey, is he all right?"

Rei shook her head. "I don't think he's got a neck injury, but he's been out forty five seconds." There were whispers coming all round, especially as the register of her voice was rising slightly, but there was something more important to worry about. She tugged at the waistband of his shorts. "Niijima-san, take off his shoes. Someone else, call 119."

"Are you sure it's that serious?" Kamoshida asked with a small gulp. "I'm sure the nurses' office can - "

"I'm still certified in first aid," Rei cut him off. " _Any_ loss of consciousness is serious. We're over a minute now." Not finding what she was looking for, she flipped Makoto's smartphone upside down and held it near the boy's nose and mouth, noting the condensation forming on it. "He's breathing, but that might stop any time if he doesn't wake up soon."

"Hey, Amamiya-kun, I'm sure you're overreacting!" Kamoshida tried again. "Let's just get him to the nurses' office, huh?"

Rei was about to try to tell him off, when she caught something out of the corner of her eye. It was Principal Kabayokawa, giving her an eager look. Instead she just muttered. "I really don't like the idea of moving someone with a head injury…."

Makoto opened her mouth to say something, but Rei made the slightest gesture with her head towards the principal. She went pale, but just said "Okay, I'll grab his feet. Can you hold his head still, Amamiya-san?"

"Yes." Rei tried her best to keep his head stable as she lifted him up, Makoto doing her best to help. Her mood just darkened even further as the last thing she heard on their way out of the gym was Kamoshida calling everyone to return to the match.

* * *

Makoto paced in the nurses' office while Rei held the ice pack on his forehead. "I don't _believe_ this!"

Rei shook her head. "I can't believe I'm the first person in this school who - "

"I used to be certified too," Makoto said. "There's a few others, of course, but everyone trusts the teachers." She continued her pacing. "But Kabayokawa was willing to let this boy _die_ just to. . . to. . . "

"He probably genuinely does think I'm overreacting," Rei pointed out. "Hell, I probably _am_." Makoto nodded. Neither of them were professionals, so of course the safest thing to do was assume the worst. "Doesn't change that he's been out almost ten minutes."

"Check his pulse again?" Makoto suggested, biting at her knuckles.

Rei nodded and, now that her own phone wasn't trapped in her gym pants, started the heart monitor app and put the boy's finger on the camera. "I wish we had better tools. And where's the nurse, anyway?" She glanced down. "Looks like it's returning to normal. He may just be asleep now."

There was a loud groan, and then his eyes flitted open, looking up. "Huh...an angel?"

Rei gulped and quickly lowered her voice. "I'm afraid not. You've suffered a head injury, but you survived. I need to ask questions to be sure you aren't suffering a concussion. Are you ready?"

"Huh?" The boy said. "Uh, yeah, sure."

Rei flipped her phone over to a list she had found on a web site while the boy was still out. "What is your name?"

"Yuuki Mishima." The boy said.

Rei fired off another one quickly. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Two."

"What's the date?"

The boy seemed to need a second to think about that. "Is it still April 13th?"

Rei nodded curtly. "Do you know who I am, and who the Prime Minister is?"

"Well, you're Amamiya," Mishima said. "Prime Minster's...uh, it's still Abe?"

"What's three times four?"

Mishima needed a second in the face of the sudden change of topics. "Twelve, right?"

Rei looked deeply pensive, then turned her eyes to Makoto for guidance. Unfortunately, the older girl didn't have any better answers. Finally, Rei turned her attention back to Mishima. "I'm still concerned. You should go see a doctor as soon as possible, but the principal isn't allowing us to call one. I would also strongly recommend, at least for today, not attending any sports clubs. I certainly wouldn't allow you to train in your condition." Mishima groaned and sat up, or tried to. Rei gently pushed him back down. "I'll get you some water. Do you have a headache?" The young man nodded. "Niijima-san, do your keys include the cabinet over there?"

Makoto shook her head. "Only the nurse has that key."

Rei barely restrained a curse. "And she's no doubt enjoying herself at the match instead of doing her job." She got up to retrieve the glass of water. "Check the first aid kit. Tylenol _only_ , that's important."

Makoto looked through and tossed Rei the packet. She caught and opened it before setting them both down next to the patient with a smile. "Here. I'll help you sit up."

Mishima gave Rei a bit of a smile. "You know, you're way nicer than the rumors make out." Suddenly he couldn't quite meet her eyes anymore.

"It's fine," Rei said. "It's only natural people would be frightened of me. After all, I'm one of the shortest 'boys' in the school, and yet I apparently did enough harm to a grown man that I couldn't stay in my hometown." She sighed. "How did you get the other injuries?"

"What other injuries?" Mishima said, suddenly defensive.

Rei smirked. "Niijima-san, you were paying attention when we brought him here. Would you care to do the 'honors'?"

Makoto nodded. "Well, Ren's the one who practices the martial art where you'd _really_ expect it, but...I'd say sprained ankle, on top of the multiple bruises and the cut on the cheek."

Mishima couldn't look at either of them, now. "It's nothing."

"Either of our sensei would send you home in this shape," Rei said. "And I've completed the _nijyunin kumite_. Twice." Makoto looked at her in surprise, but Rei returned the look with one that said 'I'll explain later.' "By the way, you missed the healing wrist sprain, although honestly it _was_ mostly gone until he landed on it just now." Rei pulled Mishima's face around to look her square in the eyes. "I know Kamoshida's doing this to you."

"N-no!" Mishima was panicking now. "It's just some bullies."

"'No one would dare do anything to the best Volleyball team in the country'" Rei quoted the boys who had tried to bully her to him. "Either it's Kamoshida or it's happening to you on his watch. Why haven't you told anyone?"

"I did!" Mishima suddenly snapped. "Our parents, the school, they _all_ know about it! They just…" He slumped back over. "They don't care. As long as we win."

Rei slumped back herself, all the resolve draining out of her. Makoto grabbed her by the shoulder. "Th-thank you Mishima-kun," she said. "You should get some rest. I'll contact your parents about the accident." At Mishima's further panicking look, she added "We'll leave Kamoshida out of it. Just sleep."

* * *

Makoto was immediately worried that something had gone wrong. The moment the door was closed, Rei's expression hardened. "I know I said I'd contact his parents, but I don't know the number and suddenly there's something way more important to do." She forced a sweet smile. "I'm sorry, could you go handle that for me? I have a pervert to murder."

 _She's snapped._ Makoto put a hand on Rei's shoulder. "I _think_ you need to take a few minutes to really think this through," she said, trying to guide her down the hallway. "We can look in the records room together while you calm down."

Rei broke free from Makoto's grip and glared at her. "You heard what Mishima-san said!" she shouted, then remembered they were in the hallway and looked around to be sure no one had paid attention, but apparently all eyes were still on the Rally. She lowered her voice and stared levelly at the Student Council President. "I am also really not happy with _you_ at the moment, so don't go suggesting I 'calm down.'"

"What?!" Makoto exclaimed back, but she had a sinking feeling of where this was going.

Rei confirmed it with the harshest whisper yet. "If 'everybody knows' I see two answers. One, you were intentionally kept in the dark. Two, _you knew too._ " She started to pace nervously, biting her lip. "Makoto-chan, I can _just barely_ see how you might have wanted to remain ignorant. Your exams are coming up, you didn't want to jeopardize your future by making waves. I get it. But you're not ignorant now, and you _were_ part of the problem." Then she shook her head. "No, it's worse. You _are_ part of the problem."

"I know." That one statement was enough to pull Rei out of her reverie. "I let myself be distracted and blackmailed over my future." She suddenly reached out and pulled Rei into a hug, whispering, "Amamiya Rei. I'm with you. Kamoshida's out of control. But _what_ made you jump to _murder_?"

Rei was blushing, but she put her arms on Makoto's shoulders. "I...we can't go to the police. If the principal's distracting you, he won't do anything no matter how much evidence, no matter how many accusations we manage to get. Kamoshida's going to try to rape me and then, when I fight back, send me to jail. I'm out of options, Makoto-chan." She gently pushed the girl away. "I don't want to kill him. I don't _want_ to kill anyone."

"...but without any other options, you will." Makoto gulped. "And you're talking about using the Metaverse to do it. It's untraceable. Kamoshida just becomes...another psychotic break." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Who you are in the dark, huh?"

Rei nodded. "Please take care of Mishima-san. I...no one else needs to be caught up in this."

"To Hell with that." Makoto said. "I'm an accomplice already, just by keeping quiet."

"Talk, then," Rei said, smirking. "I mean, everyone will think you need to lay off the bad sushi on movie night, but if you want to cover your bases that way I won't stop you."

Makoto laughed bitterly. "That's not what I meant. If I'm going to be an accomplice, I'm doing it right. We'll both take care of Mishima-san, then I'm going in with you. And, if I can, I'll hold him down while you stick the knife in."

* * *

Ann tapped her foot impatiently. True, Ren hadn't known poor Mishima would end up laid out flat, and apparently no one else was going to help, but after a revelation like _that_ he definitely owed her an explanation.

She was about to give up when the sound of a cat's meow caught her attention. "Huh? Oh, hey, what are you doing up here?" The cat just stared back. "Probably a stray, huh?" The cat suddenly darted forward and rubbed against her legs, letting out a series of meows that almost sounded like it was trying to hold a conversation. "Okay, okay, not a stray."

"Mew!" The cat's exclamation came with a tilt of a head, almost like he was expecting an answer.

Instead, Ann bent down to scratch him behind the ears. That lasted right up until a voice cussed behind her. "Dammit, what are you doing up here, Takamaki?"

"It's a public roof," Ann said back. "Anyway, Amamiya invited me up here."

"Uh...huh." Ryuji shook his head. "No way. Not Kamoshida's girl." He said, ignoring Ann's wince. "Okay, if 'Ren' really called you up here...what's 'his' name?" The word 'his' came with a decidedly unsubtle emphasis.

Ann narrowed her eyes. "Ren, duh. You said it yourself."

"Yeah, take a hike." Ryuji said. "If ya can't answer that the right way, we don't want ya up here."

"And what are you going to do about it, Mister 'Track Team Traitor?' Kick me out?" Ann asked acidly. "You can at least wait for _Ren_ to finish up helping that poor guy and ask yourself, you know."

"AGH!" Ryuji shouted to the heavens. "That's it! I'm goin' to go find'em!" The cat yowled suddenly, and Ann was shocked when Ryuji spun around. "Yeah, I know Morgana!" Another meow. "I ain't even gonna _ask_ how you got like that, but goddamit we can't _trust_ her!" There were more feline noises. "What?"

By this point, Ann tilted her head. "Uh, Sakamoto, did you take too much pain medication? Morgana's a cat."

"I ain't on that stuff right now," Ryuji snapped back. "Come on, you can't understand him?"

"...ooo-kay." Ann slowly edged away from Ryuji, and the door. "Ryuji-kun, I think maybe you need to go see the doctor."

By this point, Ryuji wasn't listening to her anymore, instead having entered a spirited debate with the animal, one that involved such phrases as 'collective cognition.' Ann wasn't certain, but she thought the cat was winning the argument. Finally, Ryuji just screamed his frustration. "This don't make any sense, but fine. I'll wait for Rei to get here."

"Who's Rei?" Ryuji just gave her a hard glare for that, hard enough that she thought he might try to toss her off the roof. "Okay, okay, forget I asked."

"You'll find out soon enough, I guess." Ryuji grumbled. "Can't believe I lost an argument with a cat."

Morgana yowled once, and then they settled in to wait. It didn't take very long. 'Ren' and Makoto made it up roughly an hour later than planned. Ren sighed. "Wish we had a hangout closer to the school where I didn't have to wear the uniform," she grumbled, before looking up. "Okay….Ryuji-kun, before we get going, what's up?"

"She's what's up." Ryuji grumbled. "Whatcha thinking, bringing Kamoshida's girl up here after he damn near killed that kid?"

"One, fortunately it wasn't that serious after all," Rei said, walking along the roof. "But yes, that did change my plans a bit. But...well, it's kinda pointless now, but since we've got you here, Takamaki-san...all cards on the table, so to speak?" Seeing the looks of incomprehension from Ryuji and Ann both, she sighed. "I _mean_ , everyone present, Morgana included, has problems with Kamoshida-sensei. But we haven't all explained it to everyone. So….get it all out there."

Ann nodded. "...you're all completely nuts."

"She can't understand Morgana," Ryuji said. "Something about not having seen him in the Metaverse the way we have."

"...I see." Rei said. "Uhm...Makoto?"

The girl smiled. "Takamaki-san, I assure you this isn't a prank. Morgana can speak. It's...probably some sort of psychic ability, actually. It may be possible for you to understand him, but it requires...I can't believe I'm about to say this...You have to actually let yourself believe he can speak. Not just be open to the possibility. It has to be something you convince yourself of so thoroughly it's the truth. To reach such an understanding probably requires bringing about circumstances we can't attempt at the moment…"

Ryuji grinned. "Hey, I got an idea. Monamona, can you write something?"

The cat made a noise between a yowl and a growl. Rei chuckled. "That's a 'yes.' And half credit, Ryuji. His name's 'Morgana' but it _is_ a pretty good idea." She opened up her bookbag and put a notebook down on the ground, next to a pen. "Everyone except Morgana goes around the corner. Ann, you go last and make sure we're all in your field of vision the entire time until Morgana signals us to come back. Makoto-san, lock the door to the roof? And use my trick, put something in front of it that'll be knocked over and make noise. That way, Takamaki-san, there's no way anyone but Morgana could have written it, right?"

Ann nodded, and they did everything just the way Rei requested. Morgana yowled, and Ann ran back around. There, written in crude, squiggly kana, were the words ' _It's a pleasure to meet you, Ann-dono.'_

It took a second for the full implications to sink in, and then she heard a fifth voice. "Ann-dono, do you understand me now?"

Ann suddenly felt lightheaded, but Rei was holding onto her shoulder. "Oh no. One K.O. per day outside the ring's my absolute limit. You're not passing out on me, Takamaki. Got it?"

"Uh...yeah, I got it." Ann said, giving Rei a sidelong look. _.._ _is he wearing hairpins?_ Ann pulled herself together and sat down, feeling breathless. "Okay…"

"I'm sorry if we scared you," Morgana added. "But Ren's right, it's best if we're all clear where we're coming from. I'll go last, because...well, you might believe it now."

"Yeah, but it's the most tied into the plan." Rei said. "I'll...I'll go first." She stopped, then pulled out the pins Ann had already noticed, her hair spilling down around her head. "By now, you've probably figured out that I'm really Amamiya Rei, not Ren."

Ryuji groaned. "Ya mean you didn't tell her?"

"I wasn't going to tell her in the middle of class," Rei said. "But yeah, even if Ren _can_ be a girls' name, I don't like thinking about it even if I was 'Ren' more than half my life."

Ann tilted her head. "But didn't you have a girlfriend back home? Or was it a boyfriend?"

"Both," Rei admitted. "Not at the same time. Hiro dumped me when he couldn't handle...y'know. He tried, but he's actually gay. Ai...that was a bit rougher, but it's not what we're here to talk about. Anyway, yeah, Kamoshida….well, you know that he put his hands on me in the hall. It wasn't much, but he made it pretty clear that was just the start. A favor of a little touch for not bringing up that I'm not using my locker. If I let it go, well…"

Ann found she couldn't meet Rei's eyes. "Yeah. That makes sense. But why the big secret? I mean, if you've got a new name and everything..."

Rei hid another of those flashes of rage. "The Principal's decided being a transgirl violates the indecency codes for the school, so I attend as a boy or go to jail."

There was a long silence after that. Ryuji coughed to break it. "So...yeah. I think Rei's the only one who doesn't know the whole story by now."

"Maybe I can shed some light first, though?" Makoto cut in. "You deserve to hear this too. I did some digging. I never really cared about it before, but it turns out, if you look at the numbers, Shujin didn't just have _one_ team ready to compete at a national level. It had two. The volleyball team...and the track team."

Ryuji nodded. "Yeah, I was pretty hot stuff."

Makoto laughed gently. "Well, it wasn't just you. But because of that, this year's budget was slated to look rather different than the one before. The track team had some more money, and we were even looking at maybe giving you the funds to try for cross-country."

Ryuji snorted. "Yeah, that fills in the blanks. I thought he just didn't like the competition. Anyway, our old coach for Track was out a couple of weeks. Kamoshida 'volunteered' to fill in. It was brutal. Like, we looked like the volleyball team after a week brutal. He really pushed at me too. Cussing me out if my time dropped at all, lots of extra exercises. He knew I was the type to fight back. I managed to keep cool for a bit, but then...he kept bringing up my parents. I...I couldn't take it anymore, so I punched him, and the bastard broke my leg and blamed the whole team for it."

Ann winced. "So...that was it."

Ryuji shrugged. "Anyway, that's how I got the 'Yankee' label. Could be worse. He just wants to _figuratively_ screw me."

Makoto nodded. "So, I guess that brings it up to me. I admit, I wasn't really involved in this until I met Rei, but…this whole thing has highlighted what an awful job I've done as President. I've been looking for ways to make it up to the school, but I expect Kobayakawa is going to stonewall. Originally, we came here hoping to convince you to either come forward or at least consider it when we had more people, but…"

Rei's eyes went cold. "Plans have changed. If you want to share, you still can, but I admit we don't need you to."

Ryuji's attention snapped to Rei. "Wait, you mean we're really gonna do - " He became aware of the girl's sudden glare. "Uh, right."

Rei turned her attention back to Ann. "I'm really sorry to have brought you into this. You'll probably want to back out now, but I won't force you. If talking helps you feel better, we're here. And if you want to talk later, you know where to find me."

Ann blinked. "Wait, so did you find something else on Kamoshida?"

"...enough to know that conventional means won't work," Rei said, carefully considering her words. "And I _really_ think you're better off not asking about the unconventional means."

Ann blinked. "Wait, so, like, paparazzi stuff? Spy cameras in the gym?"

Rei looked to Makoto, who nodded and stepped in. "I believe what Rei is trying to say is that the fewer people who know about what she has in mind, the better. And yes, it has to do with the talking cat." Morgana hmphed. "Sorry, but…"

Ann shook her head. "Well...it's just…it's been going on for awhile, but the day you came to school it suddenly got so much worse."

* * *

Ann was standing in the stairwell when Kamoshida came up behind her, uncomfortably close. He always seemed to these days. "Hey, how's it going?"

Ann tried not to stiffen, forcing a bright smile and hoping it came out in her voice. "Oh, it's going great, you know!"

Kamoshida chuckled, and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "How about you come out to my car tonight. I'll give you a ride home."

Ann felt herself go stiff at _that_ , and barely choked out "S-sorry. I have work."

"That's too bad." Kamoshida stepped around her, then looked over his shoulder. "Oh, your friend, Suzui. I think maybe she's under a lot of stress. I don't want to take her off the starting lineup, but at this rate…"

Ann gulped. "Ta-talk to me tomorrow."

* * *

By the end of the story, Rei and Makoto were looking at each other nervously. "That...that's actually more helpful than you realize." Rei said. "About what time was this?"

Ann felt her confusion growing. "It was before first period. Why?"

Rei shook her head. "It would be meaningless to you without a lot of explanation you're better off not hearing."

"Are you talking about something illegal?" Ann finally shot out.

Rei thought about it. "I don't think anyone's actually made a law against it. Yet."

Makoto nodded. "That's almost certainly true, and you can't be charged for crimes that aren't on the books at the time you commit the offenses. But that doesn't mean they won't _try._ "

"And it's still horribly unethical." Rei said. "I think I can live with that, knowing the alternative, but I'd rather keep the number of people involved to a minimum. For the sake of my conscience, if nothing else."

"I see…" Ann said. "Well, if nothing happens in a week, I'll...I'll tell the principal." Rei gapsed. "It's just to make sure you follow through on your promises! Take care of Kamoshida in a week or the whole school knows about this conversation!" Ann turned and ran off of the roof, slamming the door behind her.

Rei watched her go, then swallowed hesitantly. "...that went well."

"What were you going on about the time like that for?" Morgana asked.

Rei shrugged. "By my best guess, that would be about the time Kamoshida's Shadow was gearing up to try to get me to agree to join his harem. It implies the link between the two is as strong as I imagined." She smiled. "So, I'm gonna go kill the bastard."

Morgana's jaw dropped open. "Kill the Shadow!? But...but...that could trigger a mental shutdown!"

"I was hoping, yes." Rei pointed out in a reasonable tone. "There's no chance of bringing him to justice as long as the volleyball team is looking set to win games, and he's not injuring most of them badly enough to impede their play. Yet. By the time he does, it'll be too late. So, that leaves manipulate the Shadow, or kill it. And I can't think of anything to do that won't just make Kamoshida take his Shadow's temper out on the students even harder. So . . . "

Ryuji stared at her, having gone pale. "...damn, that's _cold._ I don't _like_ him, but I can't believe you're talking about this so calmly."

"I…" Rei looked out at the horizon, at least as much of it as could be seen from the roof. "If it makes you feel better? I can't either. But crying and screaming and raving how it's not fair won't do me any good now. So I'll save that for later, and get this over with tonight. No options left."

"Wait!" Morgana shouted. "I might have one!"

Rei blinked. "...don't go getting my hopes up," she warned.

Morgana shook his head rapidly. "I'm not! But there _is_ a way to get Kamoshida to stop and face justice _himself._ " Rei nodded at him to continue, a bit of hope starting to glimmer in her eyes. "The reflection isn't just in Kamoshida's Shadow, it's the whole Palace. So, somewhere within, there's something that reflects all the twisted and distorted desires that make him act this way. That's the Treasure, and it serves as . . . sort of the anchor for the Palace."

"...like a physical object, right?" Rei asked. "So...instead of an assassin, it's a thief after all…" she murmured, more to herself. "Short version, we take this Treasure, and Kamoshida gets so heartbroken he confesses everything?"

"Well...that's the theory." Morgana said. "I've never done it before, but it _should_ work. And it's better odds than he's got if you just make with the stabbing."

Makoto nodded. "I can't argue with that."

Rei nodded. "Right...so, we gonna do this?"

* * *

Standing in the alley, Ryuji was keeping an eye out at the end of the alleyway for them. "Anyone want to back out?" Rei asked. "I know you're in, Morgana, and I can't do it without you. But Makoto-chan? Ryuji-kun? I mess this up and you're accessories to manslaughter. At least."

Ryuji gulped. "Well, when ya put it like that...not sure how much help I can be in there. I mean, ya said it don't matter how strong you are if you don't have a Persona, right?"

"Right." Rei said, giving Makoto an expectant look.

The older girl shook her head. "I can't physically help you, but I can still contribute with my mind and my knowledge of the school. Let's face it, you've been in Tokyo all of four days, right? There may be things you need me for." Seeing Rei about to form an objection, she anticipated it and added "If Takamaki hadn't set a deadline, I could just wait outside, but every time you go and come back you said you're exhausted. You need to be able to talk to me in real time, and without cell phone coverage in the Metaverse…"

Rei giggled. "We could set up a tower or something?" She gave Morgana a look. "Can you help keep her safe?"

"Leave it to me!" the cat declared.

Rei nodded, and gave Ryuji's shoulder a squeeze. "Okay. I won't leave you with nothing to do. I know that'd kill me." She reached into her bookbag and pulled out a small money clip. "Just in case, we're going to need supplies, but it might look weird if I did it. I was gonna ask Makoto-chan, but…"

Ryuji grinned. "Sure thing, Rei-chan. What do you need?"

"General first aid kit to start," Rei said. "Painkillers, sports drinks, bandages."

Morgana spoke up. "Also, anything that says it's refreshing!" Everyone gave him a weird look. "Things in the Metaverse can have a sped up effect. So water from a bottle with special advertising can actually make you feel better."

"Okay, you heard the cat." Rei grinned. "Stock up for a _really_ wild party. Too bad we can't have alcohol, I bet that'd be the _really_ good medicine." Makoto gave her a narrow-eyed look. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Joke, see? Alcohol for 'medicinal purposes'?"

"Oh." Makoto shook her head. "It's good that you're keeping your spirits up…" Makoto had to resist the urge to facepalm at Rei's snicker. "...but perhaps you should try to be more serious?"

Rei sighed. "You're no fun." Once Ryuji was clear, she triggered the app. The world shifted, and everything changed. As the shadows of the Metaverse covered them, Rei felt her clothing shift. She smiled and pulled her hair down. "Now, stay behiii…" She gasped. "Oh, uhm…"

"What?" Makoto asked. She felt strangely confined and, simultaneously, like she wasn't wearing anything at all. Rei was staring at her in a decidedly discomfiting way, though, so she suddenly suspected it was closer to the latter. She looked down.

Leather. Skintight leather all the way down. Unlike Rei's outfit, which looked like it was somehow formed of a single piece, this one consisted of several layers, forming extra protective layers over the tight base. Her chest had a bustier, laced loosely up the middle in a way that would be indecent without the paneling beneath. The area below her hips wasn't as lucky, although she did feel fortunate in that the leather was, itself, thick enough to hide any serious details. There was also a looser second layer running all the way down her sides, under the corset-like chest, of blue leather that offset the black. Her shoulders and knees were protected with spiked plates, and she realized she was holding a pair of, not brass, but lead-weighted steel knuckles. A scarf whipped in the breeze behind her. There was also a weight on her face. She reached up and felt some kind of steel covering that didn't restrict her field of vision at all. Even her boots, while tight around the calf, felt practical enough despite the low heel.

Then she realized Rei was still staring. "Don't look!" Makoto covered herself as best she could with her hands.

Rei swallowed back. "Sorry, just...damn, I thought _I_ pulled this look off good."

Makoto gave her another look. "Uh...you're fine. If I didn't know, I...well, I wouldn't know."

"Yeah, not quite what I meant," Rei said, annoyed. "Uh...Morgana?"

Morgana shook his head. "This didn't happen the other day. Did you come to the Metaverse without us?"

"No!" Makoto shouted. "I don't know why this happened!"

Rei started to pace. "Well...I mean, that happens to us because of the power of our Personas. That means either you've got one, or...I give up. Maybe your desire to see Kamoshida punished is giving you a personal Palace of some kind?"

"I don't think it works like that," Morgana said. "Good guess, but…"

Rei nodded. "Well, easy enough to find out. Hit me."

Makoto was shocked at that suggestion. "What?"

"It's simple enough." Rei smiled and got into a ready stance. "With Adler, I'm much stronger and faster in the Metaverse. You may be a _dan_ ranked _aikidoka_ , but no way you can move faster than me _here._ Unless you've got a similar power. So, try to lay a hand on me."

Rei immediately regretted that. Makoto's fist was like a lightning bolt, and Rei only barely was able to dodge it, not even enough time to block properly. And the first punch turned out to only be a feint, and Rei's wrist was caught and she was thrown into the wall of the alleyway almost three meters off the ground. "...oww…" She got to her feet. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Mostly my pride. Okay, so you've got _something._ I guess we'll find out what it is as we go."

Makoto just nodded, as did Morgana, and they ventured towards the Palace.

* * *

Ann ran into Shiho in the lobby, grabbing her gym shoes. Wearing a turtleneck sweater over her school shirt to go home couldn't hide all the injuries she was sporting, including a knee brace. She did have one of the many non-regulation hairstyles, done up in a ponytail to hide that it was just a bit too long, and had used an obvious pink band.

But none of that seemed to matter. Her eyes, which Ann knew a year ago had been bright and shining every day, were now dull almost to the point of being flat. But she brightened a little. "Hey, Ann."

Ann grinned. "Hey. Listen, you heard anything about the new transfer student?"

"Well…" Shiho said. "In all honesty, his body count is through the roof, but everyone was really surprised by what he did during the Rally. No one has the guts to stand up to Kamoshida anymore."

Ann felt like she'd been punched in the stomach. "Yeah...about that...are there any _other_ rumors?"

"Huh?" Shiho thought. "Well, he's got a really high voice. He tries to hide it, but don't you think he sounds like a little boy?"

Ann frowned. "More like a girl. His hair's a lot longer than it looks. He's got it pinned up real funny to hide it."

Shiho laughed. "Really? That's the kind of thing that only happens in soap operas and stuff. Seriously, I hope these rumors aren't getting to him."

Ann gulped. "Hey, do the girls have practice today after the Rally?"

Shiho shook her head. "Kamoshida said we should take the day off. It was really weird too. It was like his mind was somewhere else…"

Ann grinned. "Great! Why don't we go out?"

Shiho blushed. "Ann, we're not in middle school anymore."

"You know what? Today, I don't care." Ann grinned. "Let's go out. Somewhere Kamoshida won't find us."

"O-okay." Shiho gulped softly. "Just let me get my stuff."

* * *

Entering the palace was simple enough. The vent in the outer wall Rei had pried off a few days earlier hadn't been repaired. "Makes sense he'd be a slob in his own head." She jumped up to it, sliding in, with Morgana just behind.

Makoto looked up at them, then jumped up. She couldn't jump as high as Rei and Morgana could, but she managed to grab the edge and pull herself up easily, crawling in.

Rei and Morgana gave each other a look at the slowness. "Well, better than normal, but something isn't right." Morgana said.

Rei grinned. "Don't worry. If you've got any improvement at all, I'm sure whatever mystical mumbo jumbo this place uses to make you powerless won't work."

Makoto smiled. "Thanks. If you're wrong about that, of course…"

"I'll think of something," Rei said. There was a sudden scream in the distance, startling Makoto. "You actually get used to that," Rei added bitterly. "Keep an ear out. It could cover up the guards sneaking up on us."

Rei opened the door to the closet, and immediately motioned the others to hide. She peered out, hearing voices.

"So, what do you think about the new captain?" One of the voices asked.

Another answered, the clanking of the guards going by making it difficult to hear. "I don't normally question our Lord, but this new guy's something else. I guess what happened the other day really spooked him." Rei frowned, and reached into her pouch to pull out the model gun Ryuji had given her and slipping it into the holster that had magically appeared on her outfit.

"Well, someone managed to lay a finger on His Majesty, so it makes sense he'd be cautious," the first guard said. "Anyway, remember, we won't be getting a new batch of prisoners for awhile. Make sure they last."

"I need to get to my post," one of the guards finally said, and moved off.

Rei looked around the corner at the corridor, but there was no way around, and the guard was just marching up and down the hallway. She twisted around to nod to Morgana, then smiled at Makoto. "For this fight, hold back. You can probably help, but I want you to see how we do it first. It's not as straightforward as you might think." Makoto, _very_ reluctantly, returned the nod. "We should really work out hand signals or something." She leaned out, and noted the guard's back was to them. She pulled out her dagger while Morgana scooted behind a small bust of the King.

The guard turned about and marched up and down the hall. When he had moved between Rei and Morgana's positions, Rei struck. Just like before, she ripped off the mask, then flipped backwards, making sure that the Shadow forming was between the two of them. Morgana then timed a simple slash to land when the creature was still forming and getting its' bearings.

It wasn't at all what Makoto had expected, even with everything she had experienced in the past few days. But even stranger was what Morgana hit - it was a tiny woman with wings, a pixie! But while the pixie was orienting on Morgana, Rei immediately followed up. " _ **ADLER!**_ "

Makoto's blood ran cold when she saw the demon emerge from Rei. _She's made some kind of. . . I don't know! Deal with a demon! Is that how she's able to do all this?! Do I have one too?_ Still, Makoto realized that even if it was a demon, that wasn't important compared to the practical concern of dealing with Kamoshida. _And if the school won't do it, and Heaven can't, maybe she was right to turn to Hell._ Adler made a little sniffing noise of contempt and summoned several smaller wisps of cursed light to eat at the Shadow. _And maybe I shouldn't jump to conclusions._

The Pixie collapsed at Rei's feet. " **Please!"** it shouted. " **What do you plan to do with me?"**

Rei apparently hadn't planned for this. "Uhh...you know, I was just going to kill you, but now I feel kinda bad." At the Pixie's hopeful expression, she hardened her own. "But you're still working for Kamoshida, so I'm not seeing a lot of options either."

" **I know, I know, but what else can I do…"** the pixie said helplessly. " **I don't remem...wait, I do remember now! I can help you!"** Rei nodded at her to keep going. " **If I lend you my power, my other selves in the castle might recognize you! Also, I can teach you secrets, if you learn enough of my form."**

Rei blinked. "What? What secrets?"

The Pixie smiled. " **I'm not that beast's lackey. I originally came from the depths of the Sea of Souls. Let me into** _ **your**_ **soul, and you'll see. I am Thou, Thou art I."**

"I...I am Thou, Thou art I." Rei repeated. The Pixie suddenly vanished, and a light flew into Rei's chest. "Uhh...was that how it was supposed to go?"

Morgana was dumbfounded. "I was going to teach you about interrogating guards today some time, but it seems you figured it out on your own...and I didn't even think that was possible! You absorbed some of the Shadow's essence into yourself!"

 **The secrets of a black miracle can be gleaned from this one** Adler added in her own mind. **But there is yet more I can learn…**

Rei closed her eyes, needing to think about this for a second. "Well, I...I don't know. But there's no real time to think about it right now." _Besides, I think I know who to talk to about this._

* * *

Ryuji placed the shopping basket on the counter at the Lawson's near the school. The clerk looked at him. Then at the cart, then back at him, pointedly. Ryuji grumbled. "Hey, I don't gotta explain myself to you."

"No, you do not, honored customer," the boy said, looking at the contents again. "But I really wish you would."

The basket was exactly what Rei had ordered. Ryuji had counted out the money, and on top of two first-aid kits, he'd grabbed all the bandages and ointment he could afford with half of it. The other half was canned coffee, sports drinks, and bottled tea. "Uhh...yeah, got a track meet coming up. I agreed to buy the drinks."

The clerk just started ringing it up, while Ryuji realized he hadn't actually managed to explain anything. It got even worse when he had to place the second basket, loaded with sweets that no athlete in a million years would be caught dead with, beside the first. "...uh, for my girlfriend."

* * *

"Okay, let's try the upper floors first. Kamoshida keeps the volleyball team in the basement. He wouldn't want his Treasure anywhere near them."

The halls were eerily quiet as they walked through a small dining room, and down a red-carpeted hall until they came to to a wooden door sealed with a portcullis at the end of the hallway. There was another door. Makoto frowned. "We're being herded."

Morgana looked up at her. "What makes you say that?"

"This castle's based loosely on the school, right? Just bigger? Well, that - " she pointed at the portcullis. "- is the way up. The only other ways forward are through the courtyard, which I assume is guarded heavily, or into a classroom."

There was a scream. This one didn't come from the basement, but from the open room. It was a scream of terror, not the pained agony of the others, but it was no less chilling for that. It was a girl's scream.

Rei didn't think, she charged through the only open door forward. Her eyes widened when she saw the room. It wasn't the bed chamber, but a long hallway lined with candles on the floor. At the far end was a portrait of King Kamoshida, his cloak splayed to show off exaggerated, oiled up muscles that thankfully cut off at the waist. Below that was a post, holding a girl's arms over her head and her legs splayed. She was wearing neon-pink, leopard print underwear, a tiara with large cat ears on it, and not a stitch else.

"Kami, _Takamaki!_ " Rei screamed and charged across the room, pulling her dagger with the intent to cut her down.

A blur in black and flesh tones tackled her from the side, sending Rei into the wall. Makoto and Morgana gasped.

The figure was wearing a short yukata, open at the sides to show off most of her comically large breasts. She had a wakizashi in one hand, and every inch of her was like some guy's dirty manga brought to life, proportions that were simply impossible for any actual person to have without extensive surgery and a severely shortened lifespan. But when she stood up, she gave them a very familiar smirk with Rei's face. "Gotcha."

Chapter Break


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Okay, confession time - this story concerns topics which are the subject of some controversy. As a result, my usual research efforts have failed me almost completely. Usually when I write about things like Japanese society, science, and technology you can count on at least_ some _authority backing me up, if not personal experience. But here I've got very little on solid information about medical treatment for transgender youth. I'll jump back in at the end with details of what is my personal assumption so there is_ absolutely no confusion _as to what is my best guess and what is scientific fact. Just...as you read, please keep in mind not all of this is real._

 _For now, please enjoy the chapter._

* * *

Rei slowly got to her feet, taking in her ridiculous mirror. She had been knocked clear across the room, and now the. . . Shadow? _I'll go with that._ Shadow Rei was between her and her friends. It would take them a bit to catch up, and the Shadow was too strong to take on by herself. _Stall._ "Okay, do I even _have_ to go over all the problems with you?"

The other Rei smirked at her. **"Oh, I know. But what can I say? His Majesty remade me. Tell me with a straight face you don't want to look like me."** Rei couldn't quite deny she felt a bit envious. **"See? I'm not _really_ you, but I'm the you you were _supposed_ to be. Through His Majesty's power, all things are possible. All you need to do is submit."**

Rei blinked. "Do you mind if I consult my expert? No offense, but you _did_ just tackle me across the room."

"Don't listen to her, Rei!" Makoto shouted. "It's an obvious trap!"

Rei facepalmed.

Her Shadow laughed. **"Okay, you got me. Sounds like we're even."** She quickly made a motion with with her free hand in an odd gesture, clearly turning to Morgana at the last moment. A lightning bolt crashed down from the ceiling, and the poor Thief was sent flying, rolling along the ground into the wall. **"Did you think His Majesty would make me without the ability to defend him?"**

Rei brought her blade up. "You'd better not take me _or_ Adler lightly."

The Shadow engaged, forcing Rei to dodge several strikes while she danced backwards, looking for an opening. Then she saw Makoto trying to sneak up. _Well, I'm in trouble here._ Rei lowered her guard at just the right moment, trying to force her Shadow to overcommit to the strike.

It worked, and Makoto's spinning kick was perfectly timed to take advantage. It was the Shadow's turn to be sent tumbling, laid out flat. Unfortunately, she was back on her feet in a flash and forcing Makoto back. Another bolt forced Rei to back away as well.

That was when she did something strange. Rei fell into a defensive posture, but it seemed the Shadow's attention was all on Makoto. The mudras she was making were slow and rhythmic. Makoto stopped and stared. **"You want to beat me, right? We'll, you'll get plenty of chances. Just keep watching me…"** The Shadow spoke in a low and even tone, just making the same gestures over and over again.

It all seemed so silly to Rei, but, in amazement, she saw Makoto's hands lowering. "Makoto, what the Hell?! Don't listen to her!" She charged in to try to force the Shadow to stop doing whatever it was doing, but it just kept blocking her strikes with its' own wakizashi. Morgana jumped in, having recovered from his own brush with death, but even that wasn't enough, with Makoto now finding her eyes locked on the Shadow's movements. "What is she _doing?_ " Rei shouted at Morgana.

"I don't believe this!" Morgana replied. "That isn't even a Shadow, it's just a cognition. It's like a doll, just created by the Shadow ruling the Palace. How can it be this strong?!"

Rei felt her stomach drop. _Because I managed to hurt him. She's as strong as_ he _thinks I am, and I put the idea in his head by disrupting the Shadow without finishing it off! That must be why he's trying the charming act in the real world, he thinks I can take him in a straight-up fight if he tries to have me by force._

"Rei!" Morgana shouted. "We have to stop it somehow! It's...I've never seen this before, but I think it's forcing Kamoshida's cognition onto Makoto! Her Persona's not fully manifested yet, so she's not protected!"

Meanwhile, as Makoto watched the Shadow, its' voice seemed to echo in her head. **"You're a rather pretty thing when the demure act comes off. And so smart, and powerful…"** _Huh? I'm not…_ **"A girl as wonderful as you must understand how great His Majesty, King Kamoshida is."** Someone stepped between her and the Shadow, but it seemed it was too late. She could still hear it. **"Become His Majesty's servant. All girls should worship him, after all."** _No, that's not right! I came here to . . ._ **"Forget everything and let yourself go."** _What...what did I come here to do?_

Rei snarled. "No! You _can't have her!_ " She pulled off her mask, and Adler answered the call with a bolt of lightning from the sky of its' own. The Shadow just winced. Morgana added pounding winds, but it accomplished nothing whatsoever. "Leave her alone!" When the Shadow ignored her, in desperation, she whipped out the model gun Ryuji had given her. "Stop."

The Shadow just smirked at her and continued to speak to Makoto **. "Good girl. You're very lucky to be a servant of the greatest man alive, don't you agree?"**

Makoto's jaw was slack now. _King Kamoshida is the best. Why couldn't I see it before?_ The Shadow smiled. **"That's perfect. You're becoming what you were meant to be. Just let it happen."**

 **Is this what you want? To be forever a servant of those you know to be in the wrong?**

 _Huh?_ Makoto suddenly realized there was a third voice in her head. Which was odd, because she hadn't recognized the second until just now. _No...no…_

 **Will you tread the path of strife? If you follow her, you will have to oppose everything you have professed to work for…**

 _Follow...Rei?_ Makoto felt pain. In her chest, in her head. She stumbled about, free of the spell the Shadow was weaving around her but caught in a new one. _No, not follow. I'll work_ with _her, because we share the same goal. To free people from those who are abusing power at our school._

 **Just the school? Is that the desire in your breast?** The voice sounded, disappointed.

Was that all? _No….I don't want anyone to have to suffer under this fake justice any more. Kids like me, sacrificed to this pervert? Rei, who just wants to be what she can't help but be and is punished for it. And even me, being blackmailed for a good college? What's_ wrong _with me?!_ "This is all _bullshit!"_ she screamed.

Rei's Shadow, or whatever it was, stumbled away in shock. **"No...no way…she broke free on her own!?"**

Makoto grinned, opening her eyes. Rei gasped in astonishment - Makoto couldn't see it, but her eyes were glowing with the same brilliant gold as Kamoshida's Shadow as a plate mask appeared over her eyes. "Come to me," she said, more to the voice within her heart.

 **Very well, let us proceed with our contract at once.** The pain increased a hundredfold. Makoto screamed, feeling the pressure of the mask on her head crushing her. _**"I AM THOU! THOU ART I!"**_ Makoto's hand convulsively reached up to pull it off. " **This day marks my graduation."** The mask came off. She felt blood, dripping down and evaporating around her until it took a form under her feet. The motocycle was all sleek chrome and blue lights, but most startlingly was, in place of the main headlamps, a blue dome covered the face of a woman. **You have finally found your own justice. Please, never lose sight of it again.**

Makoto smiled. **"JOHANA!"**

The room was filled with nuclear fire. Rei and Morgana barely covered their eyes in time to avoid being blinded. When it was gone, so was the Shadow. "Did...did I get it!?"

Rei looked around. "I...I think so…" Makoto felt a sudden sense of dread, and then Rei was hugging her. "That was amazing! I'm so sorry I doubted you!"

Makoto gulped. "Uh...is this the time?"

Morgana shook his head. "We'd better go. I've seen too many impossible things today."

Makoto blinked. "What do you mean? I've just gotten an up...grade." She suddenly felt exhausted, and her clothing seemed to dissolve. Fortunately, she was just wearing her school uniform when she was done. "Ooogh.."

Rei nodded. "Yeah, that's what Morgana was probably afraid of. I paced myself when I first changed and I could barely stay awake in class. You just went completely nuts."

Suddenly the voice of the other Rei laughed. **"Well, I certainly had fun today. Come back any time. I'm sure I'll have all sorts of neat ideas to test out on you. Maybe I'll even get to drag you in front of His Majesty for your proper _punishment_ …."** The cognition's giggle sent a chill down the three Thieves' spines.

Makoto forced herself to stand up without leaning on Rei for a few moments, looking the other girl in the eyes. "...well the personality's almost right."

"That worries me, yes." Rei answered, pulling Makoto's arm back over her shoulder. "Let's go before Kamoshida shows up."

* * *

Back in the real world, it was obvious Makoto was in no shape to make the journey back to her apartment building. "I don't suppose you have the keys to the gate, Prez?" she joked. "Don't answer that, the last thing you need is a rep for liking school so much you sleep there."

Makoto glared at her, but couldn't quite deny it. "I should really - "

" _Rest,_ you dummy." Rei finished the sentence. "You're leaning on the new guy, isn't that bad enough. We may need to get a cab."

Morgana saw the ugly look Makoto was giving Rei and decided to rescue the girl. "Rei's right. That was really an awesome amount of power you pumped out, but it was dangerous too."

"I've got to get back to LeBlanc too," Rei said worriedly. "Actually, that's a good idea. Chief knows you know...basically everything. I don't think he'll have any objections to you staying past closing."

Makoto looked at her. "But what about you?"

Rei sighed. "Right, right, can't be seen getting into a cab with you as 'Ren.'" She glanced down. "Morgana, I hate to ask, but is there a family bathroom in the neighborhood?" Both of them stared at her, Morgana in confusion and Makoto in astonishment. "Well, normally I'm in a hurry to get changed after school, but doing it around _here_ is a recipe for getting caught. So I didn't check."

Makoto shook her head. "I'm _really_ sorry, Rei." She closed her eyes. "I know I said it before but _dammit._ It took being sent after a student for….well, a serious problem they can't help to wake me up."

Rei smiled awkwardly. "Hey, now, it's not like dysphoria's all _that_ common."

"Wait, what's dysphoria?" Morgana cut in.

Makoto smiled. "It's just like Rei said. It's a rare condition where someone's body image doesn't match the reality. It causes all kinds of secondary psychological problems. In Rei's case, she's actually male." A glare. "Sorry, I should have said 'was born with male body parts.'"

Rei grumbled out a 'Fair enough.'

Makoto chuckled. "She takes medication that helps with that, but without it…" She sighed helplessly. "Do you want to explain it to him?"

"Back at the cafe." Rei said firmly. "I'll take Morgana tonight anyway."

A loud shout alerted them to Ryuji. "Hey, I got the stu - holy shit!" It was Makoto's turn to glare at him. "What _happened_ over there? Prez, you look like hell!"

Rei groaned. "Not so loud! We may not be out to commit murder, but geez."

"Sorry." Ryuji pulled out a sports drink. "Well, at the least she's looking pretty dehydrated. Guessing this'll help."

Makoto took the drink and, discarding all sense of propriety, started gulping it down. She was even letting it spill out the edges of her mouth. Rei giggled a bit at the image while Ryuji just looked embarrassed. Once the bottle was finished, she coughed and looked around sheepishly. "Uh...thanks, that helped….wait, what time is it?"

Rei gulped. "...way too late for your meeting with the principal. Let's get outta here."

* * *

"You." Makoto said despondently, munching on her second macaroon of the day. "You are _contagious._ "

Rei looked at the, thankfully, much smaller pile of sweets on LeBlanc's counter. It was close enough to closing time that they were just going to be tossed. Sojiro was busy with dishes, so the four of them had the corner table to themselves as long as they kept their voices down. Rei had also changed into her casual street clothes again, and was looking much better. "Well, you can't live you life having _no_ fun. Anyway, you didn't have to take the second one."

Ryuji was on his third. "Damn, you made these on Tuesday? They're a little dry, but they're still awesome."

"I was thinking I'd try a scone recipe tonight," Rei added proudly. "But anyway, where were we?"

"Dysphoria." Makoto said. "It's not a big deal with the outfit you wear in the Metaverse, but you should probably explain it since we're going to be depending on you in the real world."

Rei nodded. "Well, everyone's a bit different. It's more appropriate to say 'Gender Dysphoria' since dysphoria can be caused by other things, but for me…" She sighed, taking a sip of her coffee. "Well, for me since I could understand the difference, it was...ugh, this metaphor is _so_ dorky. Have you ever played video games?" Ryuji nodded, but Makoto and Morgana shook their heads. "Okay. I do occasionally play, but I used to play games a lot when I was a kid. When you get _really_ into a session, at some point the controls just kind of...go away. But not quite."

Makoto nodded. "I actually have my license. I know what you're talking about now. I do the same thing when I'm driving. But how's this relevant?"

Rei nodded. "Well, before I figured things out, that was...well, me. I _was_ Rei, but it was like I was a tiny girl piloting a human-sized Ren-bot. It was practically first nature at that point. I didn't _think_ about consciously moving around correctly or anything. Hell, I was good enough at it to practice Karate. But there was still that slight disconnect, like nothing I was doing was quite real."

"That's kinda cool, actually," Ryuji said, grinning.

Rei glared at him, but Makoto stepped in. "The metaphor doesn't quite convey the horror of it, I imagine. Even if you 'feel' things, that disconnect would mean, for example, tasting food as a list of flavors, rather than an experience."

"Close enough. Not like I'd wish it on Kamoshida, never mind you guys." Rei said. "I'm told I've got it as bad as it gets. By the time I was _seven_ I couldn't just pretend there was nothing wrong."

To his credit, Ryuji put his soda down with a disgusted look. "Sorry, I didn't know."

Rei grinned. "That's what we're here to fix. Anyway, yeah, I still _feel_ it just wearing a binder and boy's clothes. I can get away with shorts or jeans, as long as they're the right cut, but having to present as a boy for eight hours every day is just torture."

"I'll try to - " Makoto began, but Rei held up a hand.

It was a few moments while the younger girl collected her thoughts. "Makoto, can we discuss that later?"

Makoto shook her head. "You're _suffering._ "

"Yeah, but I did punch out a drunk." Rei pointed out. "Even if he probably deserved it, don't act like I'm innocent."

Morgana looked up at her. "Why would you do that?" he asked.

Rei gulped. "I'm not getting out of this, am I?" She looked around at a bunch of stony faces. "It was stupid. I was late going home from the dojo..."

* * *

Yasuda was warm year-round, so Rei was jogging home in her shorts and T-shirt. The streets were well lit, with all the businesses shuttered except for a few small bars. The town was remote enough that, outside pilgrims, visitors were rare.

Rei knew better than to assume that, just because they should be devout that they'd be harmless, though. When she heard an argument on the streets, she almost took an alley to go around, but then she heard the voice shout "Damn girl!" The sounds of the sirens in the distance clinched it.

 _Can't just leave this alone. I'll beat the cops there. It's probably just a domestic dispute. Nothing I can't handle._ So resolved, Rei rushed in. The woman was, in Rei's estimation, rather pretty and young, probably a little too young for the bald man she was with. "Okay, okay, that's it fella."

The man looked at her, bleary-eyed. "Whayu gonna do about it, brat?"

Rei rolled her eyes. "Sir, please. Right now you're no threat to anyone but yourself."

"I'll show youu..." The man slurred at her challenge. Even though he was considerably bigger than her, she just sighed. Then he lurched forward with a wild swing at her head.

She didn't know why she did what she did until later. There were so many ways she could have handled it, really. Maybe she was still keyed up from practice. Maybe it was all the stories about heroes kicking butt when she was a kid. Maybe the guy was just rubbing her the wrong way. When he swung at her, instead of stepping out of the way, or grabbing and restraining him, Rei stepped around the man's arm and slammed her fist into his ribcage.

Even though she made sure to pull the punch enough to avoid serious damage, there was a loud cry of pain and the man stumbled backwards. "Wha...what the hell?! How _dare_ you you little bitch!? Don't you know who I am?!"

Rei skipped back, light on her feet and grinning. _Hey, as long as he's picking on someone who can fight back._ "Can't say I do, Jerk. Can I call you that?"

The man grinned as well, and Rei suddenly got the feeling she'd miscalculated. The sirens were getting louder, and instead of taking another swing like Rei had been sure the drunk man would. "Hey, when the cops get here, just tell them what she did."

 _Shit._ Without the woman backing her up, Rei knew there wouldn't be any justification for it. It was only a misdemeanor, probably, given that the man wasn't hurt, but…

The woman shook her head. "No! Stop it! I'll...if you don't stop and be honest, I'll tell them about the money."

The man just laughed. "I'll just say you did it on your own."

 _Crap._

* * *

"...and...that was it." Rei sighed. "I don't remember a whole lot after that. I mean, I was arrested, but suddenly it was felony assault and I'd hurt him way worse than I possibly could have with one hit. Or without putting him in the hospital, which I know didn't happen. He even kept his name out of the record."

Makoto sighed. "Well, that puts things into a little more perspective."

Ryuji glared at her. "What do you mean? That was bullshit!"

"Pipe down," Rei hissed.

Makoto shook her head. "You're right. I can't say you were completely innocent. Still, to keep his name out of the record….that's not right."

"Yeah," Rei said. "Of course, I didn't know how bad I'd stepped in it til the sentencing. The prosecutor tried to make it sound like he was giving me a deal." She shuddered as she spoke. "A 'treatment facility' in Australia for homosexuals to try to get 'cured.'"

Ryuji snorted. "Yeah, right. You'd probably bite the doctors or something."

Makoto looked significantly more disturbed. "That's not even the right condition, and I'm pretty sure it doesn't work."

"You've got that right. At the time I was picturing some old-school asylum where they pump you full of drugs and shock you and stuff." Rei said. "Turned out to be even worse. But I _really_ lucked out. The judge looked into it before the sentencing, and instead it was a year probation and the prosecutor got a reprimand. It was after I'd been convicted, though, so he couldn't walk that back."

Morgana was just nodding his approval. "I see. Well, then, it seems I've made the right choice for my crew of Phantom Thieves."

"Huh?" came the chorus from all around.

Morgana looked like he was about to jump up on the table and make a speech, so Makoto quickly covered his snout with her hand. Rei nodded and quickly flagged Sojiro down at the bar. "Uh, hey, Chief, you mind if I take the study session upstairs?" While she was doing that, Makoto quickly coaxed Morgana back into her bag.

Sojiro sighed. "Whatever, kid. Just remember to lock up after they leave, and don't try going out yourself." Rei just nodded. "Oh, and if you're gonna make doing my desserts a regular thing, make sure you've got something else ready in the morning. This came out pretty good." He slid two thousand yen bills over the counter. "It would've been more, but you've been treating your friends."

Rei grinned. "Worth it, and thanks. Since it's spring, maybe strawberry tarts next?"

"Whatever," Sojiro replied with a worn sigh. "I can't say you aren't trying. Some time I'll show you how to brew coffee and you can actually take a few shifts."

* * *

Upstairs, Morgana was fit to spit nails. "What was that all about?"

Rei gave him a withering look. "In case you hadn't noticed, I live over a _restaurant._ Chief'd throw me out in a second if he thought I was smuggling a dumb animal in here. I know you're intelligent, but he doesn't and there's no way I could convince him before I'm trying to figure out which park bench to sleep under, and that's before the cops throw me in jail." By the end of the mini rant, Morgana was looking like she'd hit him. "Oh, Morgana, I'm _sorry_ , but…"

Makoto took a deep breath. "It's understandable, Rei. You're stressed. Even just moving to a new school with your...condition would be awful, but then Kamoshida and all of this."

"Yeah," Ryuji added. "If anything, it's Morgana who should probably apologize for forgetting he's gotta pretend to be a regular cat."

Morgana growled. Rei shook her head, though. "No, it's probably new for him too. Anyway, you were saying before?" When Morgana puffed up, she felt compelled to add "Quietly please. You sound like a yowling cat when you get dramatic."

Morgana coughed, and did his best to sound dignified. "Oh, of course. Now, as I was saying, a proper Phantom Thief isn't just some random thug. Nor is he, or she, a gangster, out only to enrich themselves. A _real_ Phantom Thief should always strive to be graceful, stylish, and kind to those who don't have anything, while bringing down those who would do the same to others."

Rei grinned. "Like Robin Hood? Rob from the rich and give to the poor...and maybe keep a little for herself."

Ryuji chuckled. "Yeah, I can see why you'd think Rei's a good fit...and I can sorta see myself getting into it."

Morgana narrowed his eyes, but let that pass. "Anyway, Rei, about that pistol…"

Rei pulled it out. "You mean this? Fake, sadly. That's why I didn't bother pulling the trigger."

"Ahhh…" Morgana said. "Here, yes. But in the Metaverse, well…"

Makoto raised an eyebrow. "Because it looks real, the belief of those around would make it real?"

"Real enough to fire bullets, anyway," Morgana said.

Rei's eyes lit up. "Would that work for _any_ gun? Would you need to be a Persona user?" When Morgana, after some very obvious hesitation, made a noise indicating it probably would, she grinned. "Okay. Ryuji, get some dark grey and blue clothes, if you've got'em, and maybe wash out that hair dye. Or do something to cover it up. Maybe a bandana and face mask or something. Tomorrow afternoon I'll go to the store you bought this and see what I can get."

"Eh?" Makoto stared at her. "What are you saying, Rei?"

Rei smiled. "Hey, Ryuji's got every right to get in on this action too. Kamoshida crippled him. Now, obviously he can't mix it up like the rest of us without a Persona, but now that we know we can bring working firearms in and not get caught, he can still hang back and provide fire support, and maybe carry some of the supplies."

"What about the thing that other Rei did to me?" Makoto asked.

Rei nodded. "That's a concern, but I don't think it'll work on Ryuji." She addressed Morgana. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but what I _think_ that...other Rei was wasn't a Shadow, but an extension of the Palace, right?"

"It was a Cognition, yes. Kamoshida's understanding of where you would fit into his ideal world," Morgana explained.

Rei nodded. "Right. She probably can't put just any idea into your head - all she can do is make non-Persona users act like other cognitions. And Kamoshida already sees Ryuji as . . . pardon me for putting it bluntly, but he sees you as an idiot who's too stubborn to give up when he's obviously beaten."

"But…" Makoto tried again.

Rei cut her off. "You don't interact with him much, right?" When Makoto reluctantly found she couldn't deny it, she said "So that Cognition Rei could make you act like he sees typical girls. I'm guessing the Persona protects us from that effect, too?"

"Exactly." Morgana said. "If an ordinary human weren't overwhelmed by the Shadows, in a few days or weeks the Palace itself might change them, and they'd be as good as dead. That Cognition just seems to be...accelerating the process somehow. This isn't normal."

Rei nodded. "Do you think it's because of what I did the first day, knocking him out?"

Morgana thought about it. "It's as good an explanation as any. Triggering a defense mechanism that was focused into the shape of the only person who has physically stood up to either him or the Shadow. It's like the Cognitive Rei is an incarnation of Kamoshida's own mental defenses, and it's focused on preventing us from reaching the upper levels."

"Right…" Rei said. "Let's call the meeting closed for tonight and get some actual studying in." Ryuji groaned.

* * *

Eventually, Makoto was feeling well enough to get home on her own, and then Rei was left alone above the cafe, curled up sideways on her bed. "I should get a futon or something," she muttered. "Night, Morgana. I'll introduce you to Chief properly tomorrow after we get home."

Her reply was a yawn and something that could have been 'That's nice.' She chuckled and slipped off to sleep herself shortly thereafter.

It wasn't to last, though. When next she woke, she realized quickly she was back in the Velvet Room. Well, 'realized' wasn't quite the word. Caroline was smacking her with that baton of hers. "Get up, Patient!"

"Gyah!" Rei rolled out of the hard bed. "Do you _have_ to do that?"

Justine murmured in a bored tone "You're slacking off. Caroline always gets like that with lazy patients."

Igor was, in fact, looking slightly annoyed. "You seem to have taken a more cautious approach than I had anticipated. Nonetheless, it's undeniable that, with the proper motivation, you can accomplish much in very little time."

"Listen up, Patient," Caroline snapped at her. "Personas derive their power from the strength of your heart, and your connections with others!"

Rei was starting to get dizzy when Justine said "For example, you have formed a connection with the spirit of the Pixie. Please summon her now." in a tone that almost carried a command. Rei frowned, and focused. In front of her, a very vague outline of a small woman with butterfly wings appeared. Justine nodded. "You can see how indistinct the image is. You will need to forge a connection with someone who naturally resonates with the Pixie, as well as deepen your own understanding of her secrets, before its' power can be fully manifested."

"This is for your sake too," Caroline snapped. "There are countless people in the world with talents you lack. If you strengthen your connection with other Personas, it'll connect you with those people as well. So seek them out. When you have some more, come back here." She grinned sadistically. "We'll show you something _good_."

"I...see." Rei gulped, looking to Igor. "That isn't all, is it?"

Igor nodded, back to his more cheerful self. "Just so. What Caroline and Justine have just described to you is the power of the Wild Card. By linking your Persona with others, you can expand your potential to infinite heights. But, that is a gift for another time. Tonight, I have a different reward in mind, one that will aid you in the tasks ahead. Henceforth, your intuition will guide you to the hidden, those things kept in the dark. A most fitting skill for a thief, would you not agree?"

Rei gulped. "Yes." She knew she had lost control of the conversation, and didn't much like it.

Igor smiled at her, in a way that she would have described as 'warm' except that it didn't reach his eyes. "Another gift I bestow as well. When the time comes, you will be able to return here whenever you wish." A bell chimed. "But for now, I believe _our_ time is up."

* * *

Rei up the stairs from her shower, barely managing to pull up to the bar. Sojiro wasn't in yet, but she noticed a note on the fridge and pulled out a bowl of curry. With a sigh, she started eating to one side while she got to work on the tarts she'd mentioned yesterday.

She was so busy with spooning out the fruit mix she didn't even notice when Sojiro came in. "Geez, kid!" Rei jumped at the shout. "You look like crap! Those drugs giving you some trouble?"

"No, just didn't sleep well." Rei said. "But that reminds me. I gotta go to Shinjuku after school." Sojiro stared at her with disapproval. "No, not the main strip. It's for my blood test. Gotta make sure the hormones are all in some kind of balance."

Sojiro gave her a skeptical look. "Why Shinjuku, then?"

"Tokyo U? The Medical school specifically? Geez, there's what, a few thousand kids on hormones? My dad could do the blood tests and send the paperwork in back when I was living out in the sticks, but now that I'm _in_ Tokyo I may as well go straight to the research team."

Sojiro scratched his head in frustration. "I guess it's gonna be a problem. All right." He reached into his slacks. "Catch!" There was a flash of light, and Rei had to stretch out to get the keys. "Those are my only spares. Don't lose them, and come straight back to Yongenjaya whenever you're not going for a late exam. I'm just going to have to trust you, because I can't hang out here while they're draining your blood all night."

"Thanks." She put the tarts into the oven. "Besides, other than Ryuji have I given you any cause to distrust me so far?"

Sojiro chuckled. "Well, I guess Niijima does balance that out a bit." He started heating some water. "How long do those need to bake for?"

"Ten minutes." Rei said. "I still have to do the topping."

Sojiro shook his head. "Never mind that for the moment. I had desserts before you got here, and I can manage them on my own. I'll get that started." He pushed a cup of coffee into Rei's hands. "Here, this'll wake you up."

"You're going to be the death of my diet," Rei said good-humoredly. "I mean, between not being able to go to the dojo and all the curry and coffee."

Sojiro chuckled. "Perhaps you shouldn't bake so much if you want to stay thin."

"But it's all soooooo good!" Rei mock-complained. "Besides, I have a rule. Two per batch, period. If I want more, I have to make more." She sipped respectfully at her coffee. "Hmm...good stuff."

* * *

With Morgana hiding out in her bag, the way to school was even rougher. "Ugh. Okay, I need to work out more. And maybe not have nightmares."

Morgana stuck his head out of the bag. "Nightmares? You all right?"

Rei was about to respond she was all right, when another voice called out. "Amamiya!" Rei quickly stood up straighter and remembered to make sure the disguise was firmly in place, even making sure her hair was up, and then the stranger was on her. "Amamiya," the girl repeated. "Did you say something to Ann yesterday?" she asked.

Rei blinked. "Takamaki? Uhh…nothing important."

"Oh, right. I'm Shiho. Shiho Suzui." The girl said by way of introduction. "It's just…" Shiho gave her a look. ". . . wow, you look awful."

Rei groaned. "You're not the first person to say - " Suddenly, Rei was looking at herself in a compact makeup mirror. Not only were there dark circles under her eyes, but she was pale and even sweating slightly. "Okay, maybe I'm not doing so great."

Shiho swallowed. "I was going to say that I hope all the rumors aren't getting to you, but obviously they are."

"...honestly, no, that's not it." Rei said. "I...uh...shouldn't say anything else."

Shiho tilted her head, looking at 'Ren' even more closely. "You know, there's one other rumor going around about you that you might not have heard. What's with your voice?"

"What is wrong with my voice?" Rei felt herself go cold. "No, don't tell me. It's...er...a hormone deficiency. My body doesn't produce enough testosterone to deepen my voice naturally, among other things."

"...oh. I'm sorry." Shiho said. "Er, is that related to…"

Rei shook her head. "No. I just...I don't know."

Shiho shook her head. "You _do_ know, and I bet it's related to what you told Ann yesterday. She got all weird after talking to you on the roof. She even insisted on taking me out on a date. We haven't done that since middle school!"

Rei blinked. "Huh, I wouldn't have guessed." Shiho covered her mouth. "Uhm, you know, not all of us country gi-er, kids are bigots. If that's her thing, I can't exactly judge."

It was Shiho's turn to blink in surprise. "Uh...is that why you moved to Tokyo?"

"I won't say it wasn't a factor," Rei admitted. "But no." She checked on her phone. "I guess we've got time…." She looked around, and noticed there was an alcove for the lockers. "Please, somewhere a little more private?" Curious, Shiho followed the 'strange boy' "All right. First, I can't share everything. I've told too many people already. You've heard the saying 'Three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead?'" Shiho looked at Rei being so candid in shock. "Okay...then, because this isn't the _big_ secret. But it probably won't make a whole lot of sense if you _don't_ know the big secret, but . . . I'm babbling."

"Yes, Amamiya, you are." Shiho said, hands on her hips. "Does this have something to do with Kamoshida? I mean, it's no secret you don't like him."

Rei took a deep breath. "Has he been leaving you alone this week?" Shiho gasped. "I thought so. No, don't tell me anything else. If you do I'm obligated to tell you things and then someone else knows the thing I can't afford to let get out. So...just trust that this makes sense if you understand _everything._ " When Shiho didn't say anything, Rei decided to take it as an agreement. "Kamoshida's started feeling me up."

"...you're right, that makes no sense." Shiho finally said. "I mean, I _know_ Kamoshida's into girls. Although I guess you _wouldn't_ look out of place in the right dress." Rei said nothing. "Okay…" Shiho shook her head. "This is just getting more and more messed up. I...I know Ann's been sleeping with him because he's been blackmailing her with my spot on the team."

Rei stared at her, jaw open. "Wait, seriously?! You _knew_?"

"Of course I knew. He told me. Well, more like he let it slip," Shiho admitted. "But what can I do?"

Rei growled. "I...I don't know. Just...just sit tight. I'm working on it." She took a deep breath. "One thing though. Ann didn't sleep with him yet. At least, that's what she told me, although I guess he'd been turning up the pressure until things started." Rei leaned against the wall. "This is so messed up."

* * *

Makoto steeled herself to enter the Principal's office. _Just remember, no matter how much you hate him, he's in charge and he can make Rei's life even more of a living Hell than it already is with one phone call._ She opened the door. "Sir, I'm sorry about yesterday. With everything going on around taking care of Mishima, it completely slipped my mind that I had the meeting scheduled with you."

Kabayokawa looked at her with just a hint of contempt. "Be that as it may, you're still in an important position in this school. Don't let another slip like that happen." She was about to respond, when he put on his usual, more pleasant, expression. "Besides, I'm _sure_ you used the time alone with Amamiya productively. So, what have you uncovered?"

Makoto swallowed. "Well, sir, it's nothing like you suggested. He has to return home every night for a strict curfew, where he's locked in. I arranged to spend some time with him after the cafe he's living in closed - "

"You were discreet?" Kabayokawa interrupted.

Makoto nodded. "Of course, sir. There was even another student there. I tutored the both of them for awhile. The only odd thing is that Amamiya does switch to female clothing at the first opportunity, but explained that that's because the breast bindings he needs are dangerous to use much longer than the school day."

The man looked thoughtful, then disgusted. "And if we try to use _that_ he'll just call me on it under the same laws regarding 'medical conditions' to make it into a scandal." He made a snorting noise. "He can't be this clever. There must be something."

Makoto smiled. _Oh, too easy._ "Sir, if I may make a suggestion. As long as he isn't wearing the uniform, Amamiya is virtually indistinguishable from a girl, who could attend any school. He waits to reach Shibuya each day before changing to deflect suspicion as well. And...well, he trusts me. It might be easier to make sure he's staying in line if we don't make a fuss. I'll just continue to tutor him."

Kabayokawa nodded. "And not coincidentally make sure he's not sneaking out to clubs at night. But what about your reputation?"

Makoto hid her grin. _Got you._ "Why, I think turning him around into a model student would be excellent for both my reputation and the school's." _As long as I'm at it, may as well swing for the fences._ "I was even considering giving him minor chores to do for the Student Council on half days. Nothing important, just some of the heavy lifting that comes with school events. If he does well, we'll give him some minor title he can put on his college applications or something."

Kabayokawa looked pensive at that suggestion. "We'll have to see about that. It may be a problem…"

 _Now why would that be?_ Makoto thought, but didn't say out loud. "Well, I can still hint at the possibility. It might help, even if we can't follow through. Besides, with the way the school is for him right now being seen to be helpful can't hurt."

"Very well."

* * *

The rest of the day was actually a little better. Takamaki seemed determined to give her space to work, for the moment, and the other students seemed to figure that whispering about someone who looked like she was on the edge of death and considering heading off with the Reaper would be in relatively poor taste. So she was left alone until lunch time, when, in desperation, she left class and headed up to the roof. She considered locking the door, but given the state of the place she figured no one would come up but Ryuji and Makoto. Just in case, though, she ducked behind some of the HVAC machinery.

Morgana jumped out of his bag, equally eager to stretch out. Rei smiled at him. "Hey, I'm gonna take this sports bra off for a bit. Mind keeping an eye out?"

"You sure that's a good idea?" The cat asked.

Rei shrugged. "Probably not, but I feel like I need to breathe." Morgana dutifully took up a lookout while Rei opened her shirt enough to pull the damn thing up and let her chest out. "Ugh. For once I'm _glad_ I'm as small as I am." She sat down on the roof tiles and quickly pulled out a sandwich.

"Why do it, then?"

Rei shrugged. "Better than jail. Marginally. If I knew they wouldn't take away my pills and let me stay in solitary I might deal with it, but…" Taking a deep breath, she grabbed a bottle of green tea she had snagged and drank it down in one gulp. "Aahhh. That's better."

"Hey, Rei!" A voice called out. A _male_ voice. Rei froze, then quickly covered her chest. "Heard ya came up he-WOAH!" Ryuji said, startled as he turned the corner only to realize exactly what Rei was doing. He quickly spun back, taking cover against the machine blocking his view. "Whoa!" He repeated. "I thought you couldn't do that at school!"

Rei repressed a scream, barely. "Geez," She groaned. "Sorry, the binding was _really_ bugging me. How long have we got?"

"About fifteen minutes," Ryuji confirmed. "I also heard you're feeling like crap. Want me to hit the gun place after school so you can rest?"

"It's…" Rei said, thinking about it. "No, it's fine. I'll be better once this is over with."

Ryuji seemed to think about it. "I guess you're the boss. Just…"

Morgana nodded. "She could probably use a hand. Even yours."

Rei coughed before that could break out into an argument - not a real cough, just enough to get attention. "That's very sweet, both of you, but before I go to this place I have to go to the hospital. I'm not _sick_ , it's for...this…"

Ryuji coughed himself. "Hey, uh, you decent? This is kinda awkward."

Rei blinked and quickly buttoned her shirt. "Sorry. You eaten?"

Ryuji sat down and pulled out a bento, making Rei's mouth water. He shoveled some rice into his face, then felt a chill. His eyes slid sidelong to where Rei was staring. "Uhh...guess the old man doesn't feed you much?"

Rei swallowed and turned her attention back to her sandwich. "Sorry. Home-cooked meals are a thing of the past unless I like curry. Which, I do, but not every day breakfast, lunch, and dinner."

Ryuji chuckled. "Well, this one's mine, and money's tight for us too…"

Rei just munched unhappily on her sandwich.

* * *

Rei glanced over her shoulder. Technically, the girl in the Shujin uniform could be anyone, but the black halter vest and substitute turtleneck were a dead giveaway, even as she hid her face behind a fashion magazine Rei knew Makoto wouldn't be caught dead reading. All she needed was eye cutouts and it would have been too comical for Rei to resist laughing. As it was she just sighed. "Morgana, can you follow me? I'm still wiped."

"Are you sure?" Morgana asked. "I can stay hidden…"

Rei nodded. "I'll just pay the pet fare. It'll be a pain to get the card changed, but Chief will probably do it if I pay the difference."

"What about Makoto?" Morgana asked.

Rei grumbled. "I'm not giving her the satisfaction. I can manage."

This lasted until Rei didn't get on the train to Yongenjaya, but instead turned towards the Yamamote line. Then Makoto let the book drop to her side to race to catch up. Rei glared at her. "Doctor's appointment, okay?"

"Oh." Makoto deflated. "Sorry, it's just…"

"I know you still need to 'keep an eye on me,'" Rei said with some exasperation. "But you can try to not be so obvious."

"Sorry." Makoto sighed. "Besides, we're all worried."

Rei sighed. "If you must know, I think it's Adler." Makoto gasped. "Have you been having weird dreams?"

"Not really," Makoto said slowly, with a tone that prompted further explanation.

Rei sighed again. "I keep dreaming of this weird asylum, and it all started when Adler awakened...well, no, it happened the night before," She clarified. "Anyway, every time it happens I don't sleep well, and this time just for fun I'm . . . noticing stuff."

"'Noticing stuff'?"

Rei nodded, then glanced around. "Uhm, there's a new drama starring Rise Kujikawa premiering tomorrow night at 6:30, the two guys in the locker area are staring at that girl, and there's a guy in a Kosei High uniform in the corner giving a bunch of people very brief but intense looks." Makoto gasped. "I know, right. There's this guy, looks like a Tengu in human form, running the asylum in my dream, and last night he said he was giving me a boost to my intuition, and I feel like this is what he meant."

Makoto nodded. "Well, we can figure out a test for that later." It was Rei's turn to gasp. "I don't...not believe you." Rei realized she was choosing her words carefully. "But if this is real, we need to know what it is and what you can do."

"That...makes sense," Rei decided on. "Anyway, I'm running late."

* * *

The hospital wasn't any different from how Rei remembered it, but Makoto was staring around in bewilderment. Morgana, unfortunately, had to wait outside. "Wow, this place is so different…"

"Well, this is the research wing," Rei explained. She gestured around at the soft blue walls, comfortable chairs, the nurses and doctors walking around at a calm, unhurried pace, and the very few patients. "We're cut off from the part of the hospital where people are actually in trouble. Most people never see this area."

"I see." Makoto was fascinated. "Do you come here often?"

Rei actually nodded. "Not super super often, but it used to be once a year to verify all my stuff. I'll probably have to come every other week or so this year, though." She had already changed out of her uniform, and walked up to the reception desk. "Amamiya Rei, here to see Saitou-sensei."

"Saitou's busy today," The receptionist said brusquely. "You'll have to come back."

Rei blinked in astonishment. "What?! Is something wrong?!"

"Hey!" A voice called out. "I thought I said Amamiya wasn't off the project!" The man who ran up to the desk was definitely on the older side, with salt-and-pepper hair sticking out somewhat wildly and worry lines all along his face. He reminded Makoto somewhat of a mad scientist, with his coat covered in unidentifiable, but long-since set, stains over a rumpled suit.

Rei blinked in astonishment. "Saitou-sensei?! You told me it wouldn't be a problem."

"It's not, Rei-chan," Saitou explained. "There was some . . . very vigorous debate, but our foreign colleagues sided with me." He glared at the secretary. "Hirose-sensei's feelings about it aside."

Rei nodded with a sigh. "We still on for New York in August, then?"

Saitou nodded. "Provided your parole officer gives you permission to be out of the country, of course. If not, we can make arrangements."

Rei smiled. "Well, I don't get to see the others in person very much. I was kind of looking forward to it. I especially needed to trade notes with Steve this time."

"Steve?" Makoto asked.

Rei chuckled. "He's a friend from the study. Opposite of me, transboy."

Saitou chuckled. "And just who is this? Your new girlfriend?" Rei and Makoto both blushed, and he laughed.

Rei glared at him. "You don't have to embarrass her. Anyway, no, she's just a new friend. Makoto-chan, this is Hikaru Saitou, the doctor in charge of my hormones. Saitou-sensei, Niijima Makoto. She's student council president at my new school."

"Oh, forgive me Makoto-chan," Saitou chuckled, but bowed before Makoto could. "Rei-chan has always been a pleasure to work with. She is so delightfully...unpredictable." Rei muttered mutinously. "Oh, that's far from an insult. You see, I'm actually a psychiatrist by specialty."

Makoto grinned. "Well, Rei certainly doesn't match anyone's image of what one would expect if you told them of her medical history."

"Precisely!" Saitou declared, looking momentarily like he might run off to his time machine before getting a hold of himself. "While the literature is full of atypical examples, of course, Rei-chan's agreement to let us document her development from such a young age will hopefully be vital to the exploration of these matters."

Rei chuckled. "Right. Well, today I think it was just the medical checkup, yes?"

"Quite right, my dear! To the exam room!"

* * *

The exam room was just like almost any other, with Rei sitting on the padded table and looking around at the various instruments while she tried not to think about how long the needle had been stuck in her arm. What she wasn't prepared for, however, was Sensei's stern voice cutting through her thoughts. "Rei-chan, how many fights have you gotten into at school?"

Rei chuckled nervously, but didn't dare move. "Just the one….but honestly, doctor, I'm fine."

"Rei-chan," Saitou asked her. "How long have we known each other?"

Rei gulped. "Nine years."

"Nine years," Saitou said distantly. "In all that time, I've never known you to be violent outside the dojo. I believed you about that awful man, but this fight...and the injuries from your new binder, which I didn't authorize…"

Rei sighed. "Sensei, honestly, I _wish_ I had been able to just come out right away, but the principal's got a bug up his ass. It's like he can't grasp that I don't act like this because I _want_ to...I mean…"

"Yes, Rei, I've only spent thirty years studying the psychology behind transsexuality." The older gentleman laughed, pulling the needle out and keeping pressure on the gauze. "Still, that is a problem. Perhaps I can try to explain things to him. As your doctor."

Rei sighed. "You can try, but you know how some people are. He's just the worst so far."

Saitou nodded. "I take it that paperwork I sent you helped, or you'd have been here sooner."

Rei grinned. "Yeah. He doesn't buy it for a second, but he's smart enough to know a judge probably will so at least I'm not off the pills. Speaking of…"

Saitou gave her a look. "I'm not giving you any more than you need."

Rei shook her head. "It's not that. I was wondering if we could go to a patch or something a little more discreet."

Saitou put the blood samples into a pneumatic tube to go off to a lab elsewhere in the building. "Oh, is that all? Well, let me look at your chart. You're worried about needing to have them at school, right?" At Rei's affirmative noise, the man flipped through a folder. "We could probably reduce you down to one pill at school with a patch, but I think medically it would be better to stick to what we have for now. I can do some research and get back to you. You will be happy to know that, since you gained a little weight, we can up your dose."

"Ugh. That's _not_ good news."

* * *

 _A/N: Hi, it's T.H. again. So, here's the stuff I can't actually say I know._

 _First, the availability of treatment in Japan. I. Can. Find. Nothing. There's plenty of sensationalist material about individual transwomen, mostly entertainers, but there's absolutely nothing about the science or medicine. I could only find some vague references to insurance coverage, and that was months ago and I can't find the references again now._

 _Rei's guess as to the number of transgender youth currently undergoing hormone treatment is a complete guess on my part. I drew on Julia Serano's numbers in her book Whipping Girl, and compared it to the population figures and arrived at a rough figure of 200,000 transgender-identified kids living in Japan today._

 _From there, I had to extrapolate from what I knew of LGBQ (note, no T) issues in Japan, which are currently at about where we were in 1995-2005 in the West, depending specifically on where you live. So if we go back that far on things, along with some vague references on Wikipedia for what that's worth to "Adhering to the scientific consensus" which appears to be referencing DSM-III in_ **2010** _ **,**_ _I concluded that maybe 2-5% of transgender kids are identified, and 80% or so are denied treatment on the basis of the outdated 'gatekeeper' system which still seems to be in effect in the country._

 _Incidentally, I have alternate ideas that can probably still work for plot progression if that's not the case. If any readers can point me at actual information regarding Japan's treatment of transgender youth, it will be greatly appreciated and, in honor of Stan Lee, you will get a No Prize, but I will edit the story to more closely match the reality in hopes that this story can be at least somewhat educational as well as entertaining._

 _Thank you for reading_


	6. Chapter 6

The shop Ryuji had recommended was one Makoto would definitely have stopped her from going to had she not known about it in advance. Down a narrow alley off Shibuya's central street, around a corner just to make sure no one who didn't know about it would find it, there was a shop. The windows displayed various camouflage jackets and hats, some protective masks, and a number of real-looking ammunition cases. The green neon lights above proudly proclaimed the store's name of Untouchable in green neon flourescent tube lights.

Rei glanced at Makoto nervously. "Maaaaaybe you should wait outside. Something about this place…"

Makoto was nonplussed. "I didn't think you were the great criminal who would know whether a store is up to something shady."

"Oh ha." Rei grumbled. "We already know this place sold airsoft guns to Ryuji. If they're hiding the merchandise in the shop…"

Makoto nodded. "Fair point."

Rei opened her bag. "Morgana, can you come in? Just in case?"

"Sure thing," The cat jumped into her bag and she opened the door. The eye was drawn to the boxed rifles along the wall, along with the lit display cases holding the handguns. The opposite wall held a number of the outfits from the displays outside, but Rei found her attention captured elsewhere. On the far wall, in two glass display cases, were a number of martial arts weapons. They didn't occupy a whole lot of the store's space, and as a result they were packed in tight, but even from across the room Rei could tell at least some of them were the real deal.

Completely distracted, she was at the neglected case in a flash. Military knives made up the bulk of it, but there were a couple of katana - obvious replicas, sadly - a tanto that she might be able to use, and…"Wait, is that?"

"Quit droolin', kid," A gruff voice said from the counter. Rei spun, embarrassed, and found herself looking over at the guy behind the laptop that was almost certainly the cash register. He was tall, and while she couldn't see his hairstyle with the cap he had on, his scruffy beard was obviously going gray, probably prematurely since he didn't look _that_ old. He had on a gray trenchcoat over a black shirt. The most striking thing about him was the pair of bright yellow earmuffs that he had covering his temples, but she noticed the stick of a lollipop in his mouth and relaxed. Slightly. "Should a kid your age be interested in that stuff?"

"Passed my _dan_ exam, so yes," Rei said, but went up to the counter. "Sorry, I was actually here about a rifle."

The man regarded her for a moment, then snorted. "Get lost. I can't sell to a kid."

"It's not _for_ me, it's for my boyfriend. He was in here a couple of days ago, you sold to him." Rei countered. "It was actually pretty nice, but I wanted to surprise him for his birthday."

The man raised an eyebrow. "You know a place that'll let you play?"

Rei shrugged. "A place, no. But there's games that don't check ID if you know where to look, right?"

The man looked at her a moment longer, then got up from behind the counter and went, not in back, but to the case she had been looking at. He opened it and pulled out the items she had been particularly interested in, a pair of tonfa. "Talk ta me about these."

Rei eyed him sidelong, but grabbed them by the proffered handles and spun them a couple of times, before jabbing out with each hilt. "Wow...not pine, that's for sure. They're pretty heavy….steel reinforcement under the wood?"

The man seemed impressed. "Not bad, girl. Obviously, this isn't the main line, but I stock this stuff for some of my special customers because there's a cross-interest." He held out his hand and she passed them back, noting with some envy how much more easily he handled them. "Tell ya what. Your boyfriend was pretty adamant that what ya wanted had ta look real. For today, pick out what you think is the best replica and you can buy it. If you can pick something good, well, maybe next time I can open up the rare stock."

Rei grinned. "Okay, you're on. No internet, I'm guessing?"

The shopkeeper grinned at her. "You catch on quick, but I'm not totally heartless. Got a strategy in mind?"

Rei nodded. "He's a little worried about my upper body strength, hence the handgun. So he wants something he can hang back with. That calls for a rifle, right?"

After some discussion, three replicas were laid out on the table. Rei looked at each carefully, picking it up and handling it. She was very careful not to point them at the shopkeeper. "Okay, so these use those clip things...what are they actually called?"

"Magazines," The man grunted. "And yeah, no way you're getting a loaded weapon, but points for asking. Points _off_ for not making sure before you put your finger over the trigger. My custom work may not be real guns, but you could still put someone's eye out or land'em in the hospital with good aim."

"Gotcha…" Rei said, testing how the first gun felt. "Hmm...that lever. You pull that back to shoot?" Another nod, and Rei set it down. "Hanging back's good, but I don't think Ryuji wants to be _that_ far back." She tried the next one. "...shotgun. No good, he's likely to hit _me,_ and that's even if it's actually a working weapon instead of a model. Neat, but maybe for his collection, not the field." The man's expression betrayed nothing, so Rei moved on. "...okay, this seems more like it. A bit heavier than the pistol, but...stable. I bet it fires faster than the first one." She set it down. "Okay, I'll take this one…" Her eyes trailed down, and she noticed a shiny, chromed model revolver directly underneath. "Oh, hey, that's a Colt...something, right? The one you always see in those American cop movies?"

"Colt Official Police. Yeah, that's the one. Real classic." The man said, raising an eyebrow.

Rei smiled. "I've got a friend who would be really into that. It's just a model, right?"

The man seemed to consider it. "Well, can't exactly say you _know_ your stuff, but you're a quick study and you seem to be enjoying it. Don't make me regret this." He handed her two boxes. "Don't go flashing those around."

* * *

"...okay, I think...I think...we're all stocked up for tomorrow," Rei said, her voice panting. She staggered from side to side, under the weight of not just the fake guns, but an entire stack of medical supplies picked up from the drug store at the far end of the street. Morgana was still following, because Rei's book bag was filled to overflowing with more bottles of tea and cans of juice.

Makoto just stared at the girl. She wasn't the only one, as everyone who saw it had to either get out of the way or be run into. When that finally happened, she put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Okay, that's enough. I have questions."

"Shoot," Rei said. "Wait, poor choice of words."

Makoto closed her eyes. "Rei, I'm not entirely sure where to start. Where are you getting the money for all this? Model guns? All this medicine?"

Rei sighed. "It's...it's what's left of my transition money." Makoto gasped. "I know, I know, but it doesn't do me any good if I'm locked up before I'm twenty. I'll leave the college fund for last, but…"

Makoto and Morgana stared at each other in shock. "Okay…" Makoto said, trailing off into uncertainty

Morgana picked it up. "I don't think we should go back tomorrow." Rei gave him a betrayed look. "Rei, you're exhausted!"

"Nothing...nothing a good night's sleep won't fix." Rei protested.

Makoto nodded. "Perhaps. But Morgana's right. What difference will one day make?"

"What difference will one day make to Mishima?" Rei countered. "What about Suzui? Takamaki?" Makoto and Morgana both winced. "Anyway, that's what the chamomile is for. Assuming Igor doesn't bug me again tonight, I should be fine tomorrow. I really hope." She sighed. "Okay, okay, I promise we can revisit this tomorrow afternoon."

Makoto nodded. "Okay. Anyway, give me the guns." Rei thought about it, then sighed and gave her the bag. "I'll put them together tonight and we can stash them in a locker."

"Actually," Morgana said. "Looks like it's time for me to pass on more of my wisdom." He led them down another alley, before jumping on a box that had been left out behind a restaurant. "Rei, you already discovered your pouch holds a whole ton of stuff in the Metaverse, right?"

Rei nodded. "That's right, but it all popped back out when I returned to reality."

Morgana nodded. "That was because you needed it, but all we have to do is go to the Metaverse and store it with the intent to leave it there."

Rei shrugged, and quickly pulled out her phone. "Uhm….Can we use this without triggering Kamoshida's place?"

Morgana nodded. "In this case, all you need is a destination. This one's special. Just enter 'Mementos' without a target." Rei did so, and the crowds just outside the alleyway vanished.

Rei was suddenly grinning broadly. "Hey, this is convenient!" Her two companions looked at her, puzzled. "I bet the subways in the Metaverse aren't _nearly_ as crowded. And no one cares if you jump the turnstile."

Makoto laughed, but Morgana just chuckled nervously. "Uhm, for today, let's leave that alone? I'm not saying we _can't_ use the Metaverse that way, but there are Shadows down there."

"Well, as long as they're not charging train fares," Rei said jokingly, but she didn't push further and just started stuffing things into her hip pouch. Morgana quickly joined in as she thought of something. "You know, as long as we're in private, why don't you tell us more about what Shadows are?"

"Well…" Morgana said. "Okay, this is kinda a deep dive, but you two are pretty smart. The Shadow is the part of humans that carries their emotions, especially all the emotions they want to subconsciously hide. For most people, their Shadows aren't a big deal. Everyone technically has one, but most of them are just kinda...background noise. Their negative emotions break off in the Metaverse and eventually distill into the nameless Shadows we see, which reflect _everyone's_ desires and fears.

"But!" Morgana suddenly exclaimed. "Sometimes a person's desires take on a life of their own, and that's when the Shadow manifests in the Metaverse independently. Once that happens, the Shadow starts influencing the person to act on their negative emotions, which then makes the Shadow stronger. If that's not stopped…"

"The Metaverse school turns into a castle and the gym teacher starts molesting and harassing students," Makoto finished.

Morgana grinned, looking at a bottle of caffeine pills for a second before shrugging and putting them away. "Pretty much. You can stop it in the real world, but if no one bothers, well...that's what Phantom Thieves like us are here for."

Makoto and Rei both stopped cold for a moment. Up to this point, Rei knew she had only been thinking seriously as far as Kamoshida, and a glance at Makoto told her she'd been thinking the same. Sure, Rei had promised to go to the depths of the Metaverse afterwards, but until now that had been a distant thing, something to be handled once they were safe and she had a handle on this business. And Makoto hadn't even agreed to that.

Rei closed her eyes. "Doing this...after Kamoshida…"

Makoto sighed. "I don't - "

Rei sighed. "I...I'll try, but I need to find some better way to balance my time. I need money to make up for what we lost here…"

Morgana grinned. "Oh, don't worry about that. When we head to Kamoshida's Palace I'll show you something good."

* * *

That night, Rei did, in fact, sleep better. When she woke up that morning, though, it was to Morgana snuggled up against her. Normally she wouldn't have minded, but the decidedly male-identifying cat, plus his obvious attraction to Ann, had put her off a little in this case. _Deal with keeping him warm and comfortable in here after we get Chief to let him stay here._ She gently prodded him. "Hey, you're all right with this plan, right?"

Morgana stretched. "Just leave it to me."

Rei nodded, opening the window and discreetly checking. If anyone saw, the jig would be up. "So you climb down here, then come in the front door when I open it, purr and rub up against my legs, right?"

"Demeaning, but if it gets me a stable place to stay in this world I'll go for it." Morgana said, before jumping out the window. Rei stretched and made her own way down to the shower in the basement. By the time she was clean, she heard the front door shut. She quickly got out and put on her uniform, only barely finishing getting her hair back as she got to the top of the stairs.

Sojiro was looking a bit grumpier than usual. "There's a cat yowling outside. Know what that's about?"

Rei quirked her lips into a smirk. "Chief? If we keep going down that road you're going to be suspecting me of making it rain and scaring all your customers away." She opened up the fridge and pulled out a small salad and a slice of bread. "Doc said I've been putting on weight," she said by way of explanation.

"Well, nice to see you take care of yourself," Sojiro grumbled. "But I can't afford to pay for you to eat at a conbini every night. You want to eat healthier, you can buy vegetables and make the salad yourself and I'll pay for that."

Rei chuckled. "At some point we're going to have to hash out a budget. But you're right, that sounds fair." She ate quickly, then made as if to head off. "I'm gonna meet up with Makoto before school."

"For a girl, you sure are a ladies man," Sojiro said with a laugh. "Yeah, heard about your girlfriend."

Rei made a face. "Don't remind me about Ai, okay? It was a mistake." She opened the door, and nearly tripped when Morgana raced in, rubbing up against her legs so hard she thought he was trying to push her over. "Woah, there…"

Sojiro growled. "Go on, get out of here, cat!"

"Oh," Rei said. "I remember now. This guy followed me home past couple of nights. I guess he likes me."

Sojiro shook his head. "I see what you're thinking, but this is a restaurant. We can't have a cat in here. The smell would drive off my customers."

Morgana, thinking quickly, suddenly dashed in, past the counter, and around the corner to the toilet. Sojiro stared in shock when there was a pause, and then a flushing sound while Morgana strode out of the restroom.

Rei was almost as dumbfounded, but shrugged. "I've heard cats can be trained to do that, but I never thought I'd see it."

Morgana grinned at Rei. "Well, doesn't that prove I'm human?"

Sojiro shook his head. "Okay, okay. I guess maybe if you have a cat to take care of you won't be out causing trouble."

"Thanks, Chief," Rei said. "I'll get you the money to adjust my card for pet fares and pick up some other stuff for him."

* * *

Rei's early arrival at the school didn't go unnoticed. "Hey there, new 'kid'" Kamoshida was waiting for her as she walked through the front door. "How are things going so far?"

Rei bit her lip. The man's forward-leaning posture seemed to cut off any escape options. Her breath quickened, and definitely not in a good way. "Fine, Sensei."

He leaned in to whisper. "That bathroom working out for you? If you really need a lookout that badly, well, there's a shower in the teacher's locker room." Rei froze. "No one would think anything odd about a boy coming and going from my 'second office.'" With that, he separated from her. "Anyway, I'll see you around. Come by my office any time if you have any more trouble."

Several seconds after he was gone, Rei managed to get enough of her composure back to look around, and she met the eyes of Shiho Suzui again. Rei shivered, but turned away. So she was surprised when she realized that Shiho had followed her. "Uhm...yeah," She said. "Tha-that happened."

Shiho was obviously bewildered. "I...I honestly don't believe it. He's never done anything like that to the guys before. No one else is going to believe it either...or at least, they're not going to believe what he meant...I...what is going on?!"

Rei pulled herself together. "Suzui, please don't ask questions I shouldn't answer. Just...I've got it under control."

Shiho shook her head. "Amamiya, _that wasn't a suggestion._ " Rei gasped. "He's going to be upset if you don't visit in the next couple of days." Rei suddenly found herself leaning against the wall. Shiho put a hand on her shoulder. "Woah, you all right?"

"No."

Shiho put a hand on her other shoulder. "Sorry. A _girl_ wouldn't be all right, and a boy…well, I bet you never expected to have to deal with this."

"No one should 'expect' to deal with this," Rei said. "I've...I've got to get to class. Can't miss one. Not one."

* * *

A hand slammed down onto a desk. Makoto, Ryuji, and Morgana stared nervously at their fearless, possibly crazy, leader, who had dragged a broken desk out to the middle of the roof explicitly for that purpose. "Right. Any objections?"

Makoto nodded. There was an intensity in Rei's eyes that hadn't been there that morning, but her physical condition didn't seem to have improved much, and the dramatics weren't helping. "Rei, we're under pressure, I get that, but - "

"Yes, exactly," Rei interjected. "Whatever grace period Takamaki was going to give us is officially gone today. We're taking care of things now."

Ryuji nodded. "I'm with ya. This guy's been an asshole to the school for way too long."

Rei nodded. "So, it's unanimous that we have to take him down. I'm not going to be able to sleep knowing what's waiting for me some day soon. So…" She looked to Makoto, who finally, reluctantly, nodded.

"There's just one order of business first," Morgana said. "Code names?"

"Huh?" Makoto was just as surprised as Rei.

Morgana sat up to his full height. "Code names. One, what kind of lame Phantom Thief would use their real names on the job? More importantly, of course, it prevents the Palace from connecting us to our real-world identities."

"Awww yeah!" Ryuji shouted, loudly enough that Rei and Makoto winced. "That's, like, totally what Phantom Thieves would do!"

Morgana laughed. "Well, much as it pains me to agree with Ryuji…" He looked. "Anyway, Rei's 'Joker.'"

Rei raised an eyebrow. "Why 'Joker?'"

Morgana gave her a look. "You absorbed that one Shadow's power, right? And then you used its' lightning attack? So, if you can do more of that, all your abilities will definitely be our trump card."

Rei shrugged. "I guess. Better than 'Trickster' in a fight, anyway." She looked to the other two. "I think we can skip Morgana, actually. No real identity to connect _to_ and it sounds enough like a code name that no one will question it." Morgana looked disappointed. "If it makes you feel better, 'Morgana' probably really was your code name before. It's your real name that's missing. Which just leaves you two…" She paused, regarding Makoto first. "Uhm...yeah...elegant, somewhat classical features…" She smiled. "Queen!"

"I'll accept that," Makoto said after a little thought. "If we're going to do this sort of thing. Which just leaves Ryuji."

"Hmm…" Rei looked him over. "Well, 'Morgana', 'Joker', 'Queen'. All English words, so we should probably keep that theme going…"

Morgana grinned. "'Yankee'."

"Oi!" Ryuji shouted at him.

Rei chuckled. "Nah. Not only is it insulting, but it's something people call him in the real world. Might link back to him." She thought some more, looking the boy up and down. "I think that's the right idea, but it's missing some class…"

Makoto said "Rei, how do you 'class up' a name like that?"

Rei smirked. "I think I've got it." She reached for the bandanna he had brought, and instead of tying it over his hair she put it over his nose, letting it drape down like a mask. 'Desperado.'"

Ryuji grinned. "Ya mean like the wrestler?"

Rei nodded. "I've also heard it in certain kinds of American movies. They're not popular anymore, but I sat through one a couple years ago with my American friends. Anyway, it'll do."

* * *

Shiho found herself standing outside the locker room. The reprieve of the rally wouldn't last, she knew. She could see it all in front of her. She would go in and get changed. Kamoshida would eventually lean his head in, not _quite_ far enough to see in (although now she wasn't so sure), shouting for any stragglers to hurry up. She would run the laps ahead of him, trying to avoid being lapped - because the boys Kamoshida wanted to punish would run in front with carts to try to run any stragglers down. She would do the drills, being spiked in the face repeatedly. There would be a game, in which Kamoshida would watch and hit anyone who didn't live up to his standards.

And afterwards, she had gotten a message to come to his office. Ren wasn't giving up what he wanted. _Kamoshida prefers girls...Kamoshida prefers girls….Kamoshida wants Amamiya…It's possible he's just branching out, Amamiya is pretty girly...Amamiya won't give Kamoshida what he wants...I have to be alone with him._

Shiho came to a realization. _I can't do this anymore._

Her parents would be livid. They might throw her out of the apartment, make her live on her own and earn her own food money. They might not even pay for an apartment, she'd just be on the streets. _I...I can't do this anymore. This is_ wrong.

She turned and walked away, half expecting to run into Kamoshida on the way. Instead, she saw Amamiya, along with the Student Council President and Ryuji Sakamoto, of all people. _That's right, the rumors said he was friends with both of them. What a weird trio…_

"Aw yeah, we've got this!" Sakamoto called out in response to something Amamiya said, only for the other two to shush him.

 _That's odd._ Shiho decided to follow after, sneaking her shoes out of her locker without being seen before she followed behind them as they stepped into the alley leading to the station - a route that would never be taken by 'respectable' students just because it looked like you had something to hide, even if it was shorter. _So what are they hiding?_ She walked down the alley behind them.

Niijima turned around, and they all stood aside to let her pass casually, but silently. Shiho nodded and turned the corner casually, then pressed herself against the wall.

Strangely enough, a feminine voice she thought sounded familiar, but didn't recognize, spoke. "Okay. Once we start up the app, there's no turning back. Everyone have their stuff?" Two voices responded. She recognized Sakamoto's and Niijima's from her speech at the start of the term. There was also, inexplicably, a meowing cat. "Okay then."

Shiho groaned as a sudden pain lanced through her head. Before she recovered, she was surrounded. It took her a second to recognize everyone, since they were all wearing masks, but even more distracting was Amamiya in the middle. Wearing _her_ tight leather outfit. "Wha-wha-what?!"

Amamiya groaned. "Just what I needed."

"Wha...why do you wear a boy's uniform and talk like that?" Shiho asked, managing to find her voice.

Amamiya gave a theatrical sigh. "Why don't I just strip naked in the courtyard and get it over with?" She put a hand on Shiho's shoulder. "Please, Suzui, you've been nothing but kind to me, and I'm _really_ sorry I had to lie to you. But the principal's doing this to me to make my life even more miserable. _Please_ don't tell anyone. In fact, please just try to forget about this."

"You're a girl, and wearing tha-tha-that?!" Shiho shouted. "And you want me to _forget_ this?"

Niijima put a hand on Amamiya's shoulder. "Rei…"

'Rei' smiled at Niijima, before turning to look back at Shiho with a strangely sad expression. "Suzui, please, I am absolutely _begging_ here. I will do whatever you want but you need to trust me and _not tell anyone._ "

"No!" Shiho shouted. "This is too crazy! I need to know what the hell is happening here!" She took a deep, shuddering breath. "Please...I'm quitting the volleyball team because you told Ann you would take care of Kamoshida before he beat me again. I'm going to lose my scholarship...maybe everything. I need to know I can trust you."

Rei nodded. "All...all right." She turned around and took a few steps back. "There exists a world that reflects the human mind. _This_ world. Most people are powerless here, but if you look deep within your own soul, there may be something there. A part of you that can't stand letting anyone tell you what to do anymore." She tore off her mask, and suddenly there was a demon behind her. "This is Adler."

 **"Be ye not afraid."**

Shiho swallowed. "So...instead of the real Kamoshida, you're going after...what, his heart?"

"Exactly," Rei said patiently. "And you can't help because you don't have a Persona. Neither does Desperado there, but I already made a deal that will let him help us if we can't bring it out...and two people without Personas is too many to keep safe. There are other factors, too, but you see why I can't - " She was cut off by the sound of Ann's screaming.

Shiho tried to take off, but Niijima caught her. "No! That's not the real Ann!"

"Let me go!" Shiho tried to struggle, but Niijima was as strong as a sumo wrestler, and about as easy to move. "I _know_ Ann! That's her!"

Rei grabbed Shiho and spun her around. Niijima stared in shock, and Shiho in terror, when Rei raised her hand to smack the poor girl. Seeing the point was made, Rei instead just shouted. "Don't! I fell for the same damn trick. If you go, you'll just be chasing after a fake made from Kamoshida's cognition of her - a bimbo running around in her underwear." Shiho gasped in shock at the description of her best friend. "No, I don't mean I think Takamaki's a - It's Kamoshida's mind in that castle." Rei backed away. "I'm. . . I'm sorry, it's just. . ." She seemed to remember something. "Oh, and there's a good chance you might end up in the King's harem. I almost did before I awakened. If that happened I'd try to save you, but I can't make any promises. So please, just be a good girl and stay here."

Ann screamed again. Shiho closed her eyes...but she had apparently wandered into this other world by accident. Couldn't Ann have done the same? What if Amamiya was wrong? What if it really was Ann being tortured in there? Niijima relaxed her grip slightly, and Shiho stomped the foot of the Student Council President and made a run for the school. She wasn't even phased by the giant castle, she just went in through the front door.

"I can't believe she didn't even notice Morgana!" Joker shouted, following in Shiho's wake. "And how did she get so fast?!"

Desperado answered from his place in the rear. "I'm guessin' you don't put up with Kamoshida for a year if you're slow!" He tried to put on a burst of speed, but it was no good. Shiho was already through the front doors of the castle. "Argh, dammit!"

Queen looked to Joker expectantly. "All right, all right," the later said. "Morgana, change of plans. Let's get around and see if we can spy on what happens to her. Hopefully it's the dungeons, since we still don't have any way into the harem."

"Right. Follow me." Morgana said.

* * *

The guard patrols proved to be little trouble to sneak around this time. "The majority of the patrols must have been pulled to the upper floors," Morgana noted.

Joker motioned for quiet as one passed, then nodded. "There must be another way up there. We'll need to see about it once we rescue Suzui." There was another scream. Joker tilted her head to listen better, then shook it. "Morgana, don't you have any idea where she might've gone? They pulled her through the main hall so fast we didn't even see her."

Morgana nodded. "There's another wing of the dungeon from where me and Ryuji were. They probably took her down there, but it's not gonna be pleasant. It's where he trains the volleyball team."

Queen shuddered. "It's where those screams are coming from, isn't it?"

Everyone steeled themselves and snuck past each patrol in turn, before finally coming up on one that wasn't so easily dealt with. A tall guard in golden armor, sitting at a desk in a room. The desk was off to one side, so one would have to pass by it to get through to the only other exit beyond. The guard was shuffling through paperwork and grumbling. "Damn new boss, thinks he can just 'impose order'."

Joker smirked. "I'm almost flattered. It looks like after exchanging words with me for less than five minutes I've become the incarnation of all of Kamoshida's intelligence."

Morgana shook his head. "That doesn't seem right. But it does look like Kamoshida's put a lot more effort into defending this place than normal for a Palace."

Joker nodded. "Anyway, let's hit this guy hard." She counted down with one hand, and then shot off around the corner. The guard was so startled he barely had time to realize Desperado was firing off the machine gun wildly through the room, being careful to aim low to avoid hitting Joker with his barrage. Queen followed up as soon as he was empty, covering and slamming her fist into the head of the horse with ram's horns that appeared as soon as it regained its' senses from the assault. Joker pulled out her pistol, trying to further get the drop on it, but the Bicorn just bucked her into the wall. **"All glory to Kamoshida!"** it yelled.

 **"Zorro!"** Morgana shouted, and suddenly the beast was thrown off its' feet by a powerful gust of wind.

Queen pulled out her revolver and put it up to the Bicorn's head while it was trying to recover. "Don't move, please. We're looking for the new girl who was brought in here."

The Bicorn's eye turned to look at Queen. **"You don't wanna go in there. The King's newest toy is playing with her. That one's crazy."**

Joker groaned and got to her feet. "Yeah, well, so am I. Oh, and I could use your power."

" **Now wait just a second there,"** The Bicorn objected. **"I don't wanna team up with no weak human."**

Joker smiled. "What do you mean, weak? We beat you, right?"

The Shadow seemed to have no immediate comeback for that. **"Fine. You want to team up? What's in it for - "** Queen cocked the hammer on her revolver pointedly. **"Okay, okay….I am Thou."**

Joker's grin threatened to split her head open. "Thou art I." The Shadow vanished into her chest as a ball of light. "Okay, I know where she is."

* * *

Shiho found herself waking up in a cell. She couldn't remember much, just a powerful impact on the back of her head and then blackness just after she plowed through the front door. What she saw wasn't reassuring.

But then, almost anyone would scream on waking up if they saw the Rei cognition and King Kamoshida leering at them. **"Hmm…"** 'Rei' said. **"Looks like she needs some taming. Allow me."**

There was the sudden sound of a revolver's hammer being cocked, followed by the distinctive clack of a magazine being slid into place. "Better still…" Joker said, her weapon leveled at the back of Kamoshida's head, "...let's not. Back away from her. Slowly."

Kamoshida smiled. **"Well now, my beauty, it seems you were right,"** He threw his cloak around the Rei cognition, who happily wrapped herself around him.

 **"You doubted, my lord?"** the cognition giggled. **"Sorry to scare you, Suzui. Don't worry, you'll be enjoying it soon enough."**

Joker was about to reply when Kamoshida snapped his fingers and the hallway filled with Shadows. She spun around, leveling her weapon at one of the armored men. " **ADLER!** "

Queen echoed her cry with **"JOHANA!"** She glanced back over at Joker. "Everything?"

"We don't have much choice. Morgana, Desperado, cover us!" Joker made a sweeping gesture, blowing the soldiers on her side back. Queen melted several down with radiation, but almost as soon as the path was clear more began to manifest. "Dammit! If we don't knock off the masks it doesn't matter if they're easier to take down, they just come right back!"

Rei - the cognition - giggled. **"That's ri-ight,"** she called out in a sing-song. **"No one beats King Kamoshida."**

Desperado snorted. "Yeah, right. Without you I bet he's not so tough. Why don't you come out here and fight me like a man?"

"Have you gone _mental?!_ We're nowhere near ready to take on a Palace ruler!" Morgana shouted at him.

"Shut it, cat!" Desperado shot back.

Morgana looked like he had some choice words, but Joker caught his eye and gave a quick nod. "How about it, 'Your Highness?'" She said, spitting out the last word. "Would a 'real man' turn down a challenge like that?"

Kamoshida smirked. **"All right, Sakamoto. Looks like your girlfriend wants to see you get pounded into the ground."** The guards backed away, and Kamoshida opened the cell door. The Shadow of the gym teacher threw his cloak to his kunnoichi, causing the fake Rei to nearly swoon with apparent desire. Desperado, for his part, passed the machine gun to Joker and put up his fists. A cheer went through the crowds on either side of the hallway.

Kamoshida opened up with a hook, followed by a quick jab. The latter connected, and Ryuji's neck snapped around, but then he righted himself and pulled off the bandana. "Heh. Best part is no one's ever gonna know, so I don't gotta hold back." He kicked Kamoshida straight in the gut, so poorly that Joker and Queen actually winced at the lack of technique, but in the Metaverse strength of will was everything, and Ryuji had months of resentment to spare built up. Kamoshida staggered under the force of the kick, then the roundhouse punch to the face Ryuji followed it up with, which then fed into a full turn around into an uppercut that pushed Kamoshida several steps back.

 **Now that's more like it…** a voice echoed in Ryuji's head, but he was too enraged to notice right away that it wasn't his. "How do ya like that?"

Morgana felt the difference almost immediately. _How did Joker_ know? _If this keeps up, he might just break through!_

But Kamoshida wasn't actually hurt. Morgana's hope seemed to be dashed when the King put a hand on Ryuji's shoulder and put his fist through the boy's temple. Ryuji was sent sprawling to the ground, and Kamoshida laughed. **"Do you see now? Trash is trash."**

Ryuji struggled to his feet. "No way, _Kamoshida._ You're the trash."

" **So you can still mouth off, and after I so graciously agreed to coach the track team on top of my regular job,"** Kamoshida said with a sadistic grin. **"Such a shame about your regular coach, too, but he had the guts to try to oppose me with 'sensible arguments.' If he'd just left it with your leg, he might still have a career."** He glanced over to where Joker had been standing. **"Huh? Where's my adoring crowd?"**

 _Dammit!_ Ryuji thought to himself. _Shoulda known Rei had a plan. Guess I fucked her up._

 **Oh come** _ **on,**_ the voice in his head came back. **You're not gonna let him win** _ **now,**_ **are you?**

Ryuji chuckled. _Kept me waiting, didn't you, Persona?_

 **That's my line,** the voice said. **There's something to be said for cowboys, but for us? I think not. You need power, and you desire mayhem. So let us form a pact.** Ryuji didn't even scream, he just groaned in pain, knowing what to expect from having the descriptions of Rei's and Makoto's own awakenings, and not wanting to give Kamoshida the satisfaction of seeing him give in. Even so, he staggered, and his bad leg gave out at just the wrong time. The pain of falling to his knees wasn't even noticable over the agony emanating from his head. He forced himself to his feet, even as he convulsed. Then his eyes opened, the same glittering gold as a Shadow's. **"I AM THOU! THOU ART I!"**

" **Again?!"** Kamoshida gasped, turning back to Ryuji.

A skull's mask had formed over the former track star's face, made of pewter, his eyes a golden yellow beneath. **"The skull of rebellion is my flag. Now, time to wreak havoc! PERSONA!"**

* * *

Joker winced as the fight started, but she knew there wouldn't be much time. The Shadows weren't paying attention, instead cheering on their 'liege.' She looked around, and willed Adler to help her fade into the shadows. No one seemed to notice as she slipped into the cell and managed to creep up behind the dangerous cognition of herself.

To her surprise, the Cognition turned, looked straight at her, and _winked_ before stepping to one side. Joker stared in amazement while the mirror of herself rolled her eyes. "She's got nothing to do with this, right? Get her out of here before she gets hurt."

"Why?" was all Joker could think of to ask in a whisper. The Cognition refused to answer, just gesturing towards Shiho to get on with it. Rei regarded her warped reflection with another moment's suspicion before slipping around and cutting Shiho down. "And this is why we told you to stay home," she said, keeping her voice soft. "You okay?"

Shiho nodded. "They...they said some stuff, but they didn't…"

"Good," Joker replied. She lifted one of Shiho's hands and put it around the handle of Shiho's gun. "Don't point that at anyone you don't want dead. It's as good as real, loaded, and safety off." Shiho nearly dropped the weapon in shock, but Joker's hand kept it held firm. "If I had something smaller to spare, I'd give it to you."

"What about Sakamoto?" Shiho asked, still sounding scared. "Doesn't he need it?"

 **"I AM THOU! THOU ART I!"**

Joker smirked. "He just needed a bit of a push." Her smirk turned into a genuine smile. "Suzui, get a ride with Queen and _get out of here_. Please, listen to me this time."

Shiho nodded. "That's Niijima, right?"

"Yes, but code names. Saying our real names can have negative consequences." Joker explained. "Now go. Ask Queen where you can find me after if you want to talk."

Shiho stepped out into the hallway, Joker still covering the Kunoichi version of herself with the gun. Shiho nearly dropped the weapon on seeing Saka-no, neither that nor the 'Desperado' code name fit him now. The high collared black shirt under something that resembled a ballistic vest, the new, long pipe in one hand, the skull-shaped mask, and the yellow gloves. It was sort of a 'yankee' look, but a very serious one. Then she realized where she'd seen it before - it was sort of like the portrait of a modern pirate.

Rather fitting, given the skeleton wearing a mockery of a 19th century naval uniform riding on a boat floating behind him. The tricorn hat on its' head just added to the ridiculousness, but she had a feeling the whole was deadly serious. "Get'em, Skull!" She shouted.

The newly renamed Skull gave her a grin. "I'll be sure to get in one hit just for you, Suzui." He looked back to Kamoshida. "Now, where were we? Oh, yeah. Let's go, Captain Kidd!" He gestured at Kamoshida, who was forced back by several bolts of lightning.

The perverse King of the Palace snapped his fingers, and the guards started approaching from down the hallway again. Rei stepped out of the cell and put Kamoshida's cloak back on, before looking at Ryuji. "Feh, you're not worth taking out personally. Guards, deal with this."

By now, of course, Shiho had also seen the cat-monster with them, apparently named 'Morgana', but she could ask questions later. The guards were closing in. Shiho looked around and saw Queen was already waiting on that motorcycle named 'Johanna.' She hopped on without another word, and the tires squealed. Shiho gasped as she realized they were headed straight into the mob coming for the others, and did the only thing she could think of. Leaning around Queen, she held out the SMG and pulled down on the trigger. A spray of bullets emptied the hall temporarily, and they screamed past even as the knights pulled back together.

Joker moved back-to-back with Skull, Morgana at her side facing deeper into the Palace. "Okay, mission accomplished. Suzui's outta here safe. So, boys, any ideas on how we deal with an army of Shadows on each side with no way out?"

Morgana looked up at her with a smirk. "It just so happens I know about all kinds of infiltration tools. Leave it to me." At Joker's nod, he rummaged in his pack as the armored guards closed in, until he pulled out a small egg and threw it against the ground. The hallway filled with smoke, and the three leaped to the rafters along the low ceiling, high-tailing it to the hallway entrance before their enemies could recover.

* * *

Shiho gripped tightly to Queen's waist as they sped over the rough stones and even up a spiral staircase. She heard another scream. "Wait, stop the bike!"

Queen shook her head. "I can't do that, Suzui. We already told you, these people _aren't real._ I know you're concerned, but if you want to help focus on the real world." It was at that moment that she looked up and nearly slammed on the brakes.

The room was split by an underground river, the water flowing fast enough to have anyone falling into it swept out to sea before they could catch a breath. There were several dozen cages suspended over it, each one containing a member of the volleyball team. All around them were machines hurling smaller balls at the cages. But that wasn't what cause Makoto to stop. In the center, not being tortured, was Ann. And not the underwear-clad bimbo, at least by appearance. She had on the Shujin uniform. "Dammit...guess you were right after all."

Shiho looked at Queen confused. "Huh?"

"The fake Ann is one of Kamoshida's...I...don't want to say it out loud." She swallowed. "The kind of girl we definitely don't want at Shuujin."

Shiho swallowed. "But…" She looked behind them, towards the sound of the Shadows howling and approaching. "I don't…"

"Help me!" Ann shouted. "They're going to, like, do horrible things to me."

Queen nodded. "Keep the gun trained on the entrance. I'm going to have to jump."

Shiho felt far more skeptical. "Hold up, this doesn't feel right."

Ann's eyes widened. "What are you talking about?! I'm Ann! I'm really Ann!"

Shiho's eyes flicked between the approaching Shadows and her friend...or the thing that looked like her friend. "Wha...what was it you called me in middle school?"

"What...what are you talking about Suzui?" Ann asked.

Shiho thought for another moment longer. _Ann would_ never _use my last name...but if I'm wrong, I'm about to kill my best friend...my ex-girlfriend...I…_ There was another howl.

 **Such are the illusions of this world.** The voice was soft, with just a slight undercurrent of anger. **The waters are rising, my girl.** Shiho felt a pang in her heart. **If thou dost remain here, thou dost know what will happen. But thine allies have no way forward. Regard the ceiling.** Shiho felt her eyes go involuntarily upward, noting that Queen was suddenly staring at her. She had no way to know it, but her eyes had started to glow faintly.

The cages weren't just hanging from the ceiling, but from a complicated clockwork. There were large weights hanging from the ceiling as well, and gears that were pulling chains leading further up into the castle proper. **The handiwork of the Fallen One's herald, no doubt. But there is a method to her madness. She believes you have not the strength to see through deception.**

Queen was in awe. "He's using them as a counterweight to keep the Palace doors sealed. As long as the chains are in place, we'd have to move all these cognitions around." Her eyes followed the chains. "...but if Ann wasn't there, I _think_ the whole thing would come undone and all the doors would open. There's just one problem. If Ann tries to leave, the boys all plunge to their deaths."

Shiho nodded. "No problem, then. They're just fakes, right?"

Queen suddenly wasn't so sure. "I...it's probable, but if they are this trap isn't very effective. That damned Cognition tried this already."

" **Of course I wouldn't repeat myself so soon, at least not without a twist."** The Cognition Rei said, stepping along the cobblestone ledge on the opposite side of the river. **"It's true that there's no way His Majesty could bring real people here on his own...but he's not the only Shadow. All who enter this place become his loyal subjects…."**

Queen felt sick to her stomach. "What happens if we kill someone's Shadow."

'Rei' hmmd. **"You know, I don't** _ **know**_ **but wasn't there something about a subway driver going crazy the other way on the news? I do know there's a boy in black from your world running around the Metaverse. I bet he'd be able to answer."**

 _Someone besides Joker and her friends_ Shiho thought, before she focused again. Turning her attention to Ann, she tried again, eyes now shining gold. "If you're Ann's Shadow, what's my nickname? The one you called me in middle school."

"Wha? Like, how am I suppo-" 'Ann' said, before Shiho pulled the trigger. For good measure, she sprayed the whole room. Queen hit the deck, and the Cognition of Rei threw her own smoke bomb to vanish into while the boys in the cages all dissolved into oily black liquid, along with the fake Ann.

Even as Shiho felt a surge of pride, though, the Cognitions all re-formed into a Shadow standing in front of her, battering her to the ground with a single gesture. Her head ringing, Shiho tried to sit up, only to feel a pressure on her back. She groaned in agony, even as she heard Kamoshida's voice. "It's too bad you didn't leave well enough alone. My newest pet is quite the prize, but you would've been welcome too. Oh well."

 _No...not like this…_

 **Thou hast shown the strength to see through the veil of deception over this world.** Shiho felt the pain return to her heart, and this time it spread to her head as well. She screamed again, this time struggling with renewed strength. **If thou dost wish, you may form a Contract with me**.

Shiho flexed again, and the soldier was suddenly forced off of her. She stood up, swaying to and fro like she was drunk, feeling a weight on her forehead. Knowing what she'd find, nevertheless she reached up to feel the delicate porcelain of the mask covering the upper half of her face, like the statues on the few Catholic churches she had seen. However, this mask peeled slowly off, taking skin with it like some kind of demented . . . stigmata, that was what they called it. **"I swear it. I walk in the darkness that would seek to destroy all in pursuit of the Light of Truth. Nothing that those who follow a false Order would keep hidden shall be safe from me."** Her outfit dissolved, and in its' place was not the flowing white robes Queen had expected from that kind of a declaration. She instead wore black leather shorts, loose enough to not be nearly as revealing as what Queen and Joker had to put up with. Her top was also a dark leather, and similarly unadorned, which covered her entire torso but was sleeveless. She also had on simple sandals. The outfit didn't strike Queen as particularly stealthy, but since they seemed to magically fade into the environment where they wished it probably didn't matter so long as Shiho _thought_ it was stealthy. " **I AM THOU! THOU ART I! Come forth,** _ **NOREA!**_ **"**

The Persona seemed to fit the image of a stereotypical angel a bit better. She had on a simple white dress, which came down to her knees for modesty but split halfway up her thigh to allow movement. The strangest thing about it, though, was the way it seemed to shift about, almost as if keeping one from looking directly at her. In her hands was a long spear that would preclude the use of a sidearm but gave her some range just the same. She also had a simple pair of wings, and a similarly long spear to the one that appeared in Shiho's hands.

Then Queen had to cover her eyes as the room filled with light. When it cleared, she looked around but the room was completely empty, save for herself and the unconscious Shiho. The false Rei's voice called out. **"Dammit! Retreat to the upper levels. His Majesty** _ **must**_ **be protected."**

* * *

"Ren?" As promised, Niijima had told her precisely where Amamiya could be found after the escape from that weird castle. Apparently 'the boys' had snuck out another way, and split up. But life would not wait, and apparently the odd transfer student had prior commitments. Therefore, Amamiya had taken a side trip on the way home to browse, of all things, some fresh fruit stalls in the Akihabara station. And he - or was it 'she' - was wearing a modest skirt and T-shirt and - Shiho shook her head. "Amamiya?" She hated using the person's family name after he'd just saved her life, but it was easier than trying to unpack the contradiction without help.

Amamiya looked up. "Shiho." The transfer student's expression was positively glowing. "I know Makoto said you'd made it out, but. . . anyway, I guess you have questions." She turned back to the strawberries in front of her. "Erm, no offense, but I've gotta pick up enough to make tarts for my guardian's customers, so I'll have to multitask."

Shiho nodded. "Uhm…" She didn't quite know where to start. "I'm so sorry, but what should I call you?"

Amamiya looked up, grinning and with a strange glint in her eye. "'Magnificent' would be a good start…" Seeing Shiho's nonplussed expression, Amamiya continued on from there with "...seriously, my _name_ is Rei. Ren's just what the fat, disgusting, abusive, rapist-cover-upping excuse of a human being we laughingly dignify with the title of 'Principal' insists everyone calls me at school." She paused. "By the way, at school please go along with it or he'll kick me out."

Shiho felt her brain start to melt out her ears. "...tell me how you really feel, why don't you?"

Rei shook her head. "No thanks, I don't want to be arrested for corrupting youth or something." She held up a bunch of strawberries, then put them in a basket already loaded down with them. "So. Did Mako-chan fill you in on the basics?"

Shiho nodded. "Basically, at least about the Palace. But she said a lot of the questions about _you_ weren't her place."

"Not a whole lot to tell." Rei said. "I'm a girl who was born with the wrong body parts. A lot of people, including the honored asshole in charge of the school, don't see it that way. He actually tried to kill me the day before school started." Shiho gasped. "Not so directly, but...well, it's complicated. But I've got a published child psychologist willing to sign that I'm as sane as you are, just with some weird hormonal conditions."

"I...see." Although Shiho didn't feel like she did. "Anyway...I want in. I need to protect Ann."

Rei grinned weakly. "I don't suppose I can talk you out of it? At the rate things are going we won't need the Metaverse - half the school will know by the end of the month."

Shiho grinned. "We've been living a lie at Shujin for far too long. Besides, my parents will be furious, so if we don't get Kamoshida to confess _now_ I'm in a lot of trouble."


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Trigger warning - just in case it wasn't obvious, this is the chapter where things get ugly. Trigger warning for rape/sexual assault in this chapter._

Rei looked at the Ambassador. "You've been quiet for a bit. Do you have any questions?"

The older gentleman shook his head. "No. The way of speaking these Shadows have is strange, but I have been able to follow." He looked up from his notes. "This story is extraordinary. If it weren't likely to be classified at the highest levels, I would recommend you sell it to Hollywood."

"They'd just make the protaganist some suave ladies-man," Rei replied easily. "Besides, enough people still believe it happened that I'm not sure shoving it in a file folder somewhere will help. You still have your copy of the 'special' recording, right?"

"It's already been transferred to AIVD's central office via diplomatic pouch, and will be distributed to the appropriate departments once duplicates can be made."

"Excellent." Rei said. "Anyway, this is the part where it gets unpleasant…"

* * *

Rei did not, in fact, go home, but instead, loaded down with her supply of fresh fruit for baking, took the subway to Shinjuku for another meeting. It wasn't quite time for the working class to go home yet, and she knew Saitou-sensei tended to stay late. Which was what she was counting on, because she realized she needed help. And someone she could trust.

Saitou Hikaru's office was as eccentric as the man himself. As a long-tenured doctor in both senses, he rated an office large enough for a college student to live in and then some, and the man had a peculiar sense of humor. When he was actually expecting guests, he had an elaborate enclosed glassware setup that was set bubbling and boiling by mechanisms Rei had never understood, sending colored liquid piping around pointlessly. A Jacob's Ladder sat on one side of the desk. The walls, however, had serious anatomy charts, and there was a bookshelf stocked with psychiatric texts in Japanese, Chinese, English, German, and a few other languages Rei couldn't identify.

Rei knew all of this, so after bypassing the secretary she just came in and with a quiet 'excuse me' she sat down. "Sensei?"

"Rei-chan," Saitou said. "What brings you - wait you're a me - are those strawberries?" He said, jumping from topic to topic.

Rei groaned. "Sensei, please, not today."

Saitou immediately dropped the act. "What have you been doing?" A wince. "Rei, when your father brought you to me, all those years ago, I recommended _heavily_ against the Kyokushin lessons. Do you remember what you said back then that convinced me you could handle it?"

"Always be kind. No matter what," Rei replied. "Why bring that up now?"

Saitou gave her a grave look. "Because I can see if in your eyes, Amamiya-san. You're wondering if you broke that promise."

Rei winced. "I...I should have known I couldn't hide that much from you. But...it has to be done." She took a heavy seat on the couch. "Sensei...I...Shujin's worse than we ever imagined. I mean, you warned me about the idiot in charge and how I'd have to go through it all again and maybe come out a second time and all that, but the damned gym teacher! He's abusing the students. Physically, emotionally...and sexually."

Saitou sighed. "I see." He thought about that for a moment. "Rei-chan, is this an official medical visit? Please think carefully before you answer, because there's a duty to report if he's abusing you or someone you're directly aware of."

Rei thought about it. _It's an option, I guess._ But what could she do this way? In the end, if she triggered an official investigation the best results would still lead back to her. Then the fat idiot would generate some pretext to get her kicked out. She realized Saitou had probably already figured that much out. She shook her head. "Can you just . . . the dysphoria's kicking back in."

Those words caused Saitou's blood to freeze momentarily. "Rei, you're sure? I realize you're under a lot of stress, but some of the medications we had you on are serious. With your record, being caught with them could get you in deep trouble. Even though there's a legitimate medical reason if I give one, the police aren't likely to take the time to check your records before you're in front of a judge again."

"I _know_ okay!" Rei cracked. "Dammit, you _know_ how this affects me. One of my classmates caught me with my bra open today because I just couldn't take it!" Saitou looked shocked again. "I...I trust him. Mostly. But still."

The professor nodded, and pulled out his prescription pad. "I'm not going to put you on the full battery again right away. And I can tell you'd just tell me to shove off if I tried to pull you from school for a round of isolation, even if _you_ think you could do with it." Rei nodded. "Now, what is this about 'patching you up?'

Rei swallowed. "I could use some painkillers." The man in front of her looked apoplectic, so she held up a hand. "Sensei, _not like_ _that_. I can't tell you what it's for, but I need something in an official looking bottle. The scarier it looks, the better. The contents can be sugar pills, although real asprin or something else over the counter would be better."

Saitou felt his rage fade into bafflement. "Rei-chan, that would be possible, but it's a very odd request. Are you sure you can't tell me why? And don't try to pass it off as an experiment. I've been through that process, and running a clinical trial legally is about eight years in your future."

Rei shook her head. "You won't believe me."

Saitou thought about it, then shook his head. "This won't be the weirdest thing I've done. Rei-chan, I hope someday soon you can trust me with this." He wrote something else out on the pad. "If you need me to look you over after...whatever it is you're up to, please feel free to come by before I go home." He said after much consideration. "But I may need some help from time to time around the office. It's getting more difficult to get the secretaries and medical assistants to pay attention to my requests. Just a bit of light filing, if you can handle that."

"Sure thing, Sensei." Rei said with a weak smile.

Saitou nodded. "Now, let's get you patched up. Do you want me to tell your guardian about this?"

* * *

Sojiro was, in fact, waiting up for Rei when she got in. Although it was well past any sane dinner time, he had a small saucepan full of fresh curry waiting for her. "Your shrink called up. Would have been nice of your parents to let me know you _have_ one," he said, sounding slightly suspicious. In response, Rei put down a fresh new bottle of pills and an official-looking note. Sojiro checked the label carefully, then nodded. "All right, all right." He took the bottle.

"Hey!"

Sojiro waggled a finger at her. "This is to make sure you get home on time. One with breakfast, one before bed, right? The doc said these are powerful stuff, so I don't want you wandering around with _them_ in your pocket. The other pills would just be embarrassing for a guy. This would get you sent straight back to Juvie."

Rei sighed. "Fine, I guess you have a point. And...sorry for making you worry."

Sojiro rubbed the back of his head. "I'm no good at this. Half the time you're a great kid, but then you pull something like this…"

Rei sighed. "Boss, I wish you could do something, but...well, we both know you're not my dad." Sojiro grimaced. "That's not what I meant. I've gotta go to Shujin, neither of us can change it, and that's that, right? A public school has different rules, and I wish I could go to one. Not just because Shujin's super-expensive. So...I'm stuck with this."

Sojiro raised an eyebrow. "Trouble with that principal?"

"Not him…" Rei swallowed. "Not directly, after Mako-chan threw him off the scent."

Sojiro grumbled. "Well, I'm supposed to be responsible if anything happens to you, so is it something I can help with or not?"

Rei considered. "Can you assassinate a teacher?" She purposely kept her tone light. "I'm sure my account could cover expenses."

Sojiro laughed. "They'd never find the body, but you couldn't afford it." Then he turned serious. "Kid...Rei...if something's going on that I need to know about…"

Rei shook her head. "I've got it handled. It's just a lousy teacher, every kid's gotta deal with them, right?"

* * *

The next morning Rei decided to head up to the school rooftop, leaving LeBlanc well before she needed to. While holding quiet meetings at LeBlanc after school had had mixed success so far, Sojiro was getting to be far too nosy. If this was just going to be about Kamoshida, the risks might be tolerable.

 _After that conversation, if I showed him the Metaverse he'd probably help._ Rei thought to herself wryly. _But he'd stop it from going any further too._ She'd had some thoughts, but she needed to confirm some things.

The rooftop was more private than the cafe. While she and Makoto had keys, technically students weren't supposed to be up there. _Need to ask Mako-chan where she got the spare some time,_ Rei added mentally to her list. _On the other hand, it's not going to be great holding meetings in the rain. And really, the track-team leader turned delinquent, the president of the Student Council, a 'known psychopath' and the only girl who dared to quit Kamoshida's volleyball team all spending time somewhere they're not supposed to be? Yeah,_ that _won't be found out in a hurry._

She could give Ryuji and Shiho keys as well - any hardware store would be able to make more duplicates as long as she told them they went to her house. With a little thought, she concluded that, if they purposely staggered their arrival and made use of both stairwells, it might be possible to hide the trips for awhile. That just left the weather issue. Rei thought she had a solution for that, but before she went out and bought a tarp she'd need to confirm there was somewhere to hide it.

"What are we doing?" Morgana stuck his head out of her book bag to ask as Rei went past the second story of the school.

Rei sighed. "Seeing about making a proper hideout," she answered, not entirely positively. "I'd go for an actual safehouse, but I don't even know where to begin."

"What's wrong with what we've been doing?" Morgana asked.

Rei shook her head. "Nothing for now, but…" Then she opened the door and realized someone was already there ahead of her, setting down a number of planters. "Oh, excuse me…" she said, before getting a good look at the girl. The first thing that struck Rei was the hair - it was a reddish brown color, but it came puffed out in waves that, if they were natural, almost certainly spoke of a gaijin somewhere in her ancestry. Rei would have put money on the 'not natural', though. A flash of jealousy was suppressed at _yet another_ flagrant violation of the uniform regs, as the girl had a turtlenecked blouse on, untucked so the tartan skirt that seemed to be the only rule that was enforced was barely visible.

The girl looked up. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was told no one's allowed up here."

"They're not," Rei said. "That is not the kind of thing that stops me when I need...privacy."

"Oh." Haru said. "I'm sorry, but I have a science project for my class…"

There went the plan for the secret clubhouse. _It wasn't a very good plan anyway,_ Rei decided, before speaking. "I see...I wouldn't interfere in another student's project, of course."

The girl tilted her head. "Do you know who I am?" The tone wasn't challenging, as one might expect, but seemed to just be idle curiosity.

"I just arrived at this school this year. I haven't had time to meet _everyone_ , and I pay little attention to the rumor mill." Rei couldn't keep a hint of dryness out of her 'Ren' voice.

"Oh!" The girl was surprised. "I'm sorry, I thought everyone was aware. It's awkward sometimes…" Then she gasped again, with a little squeak. "Oh!" she repeated the little outburst. "You're _that_ transfer student, aren't you?"

Rei felt herself deflate. "Yes...very well, I'll be go - "

"My name is Okumura," The girl said. "May I ask your name?"

Rei hadn't expected that. Most students wanted nothing to do with someone with her reputation. Even Makoto had been an accident - if the principal hadn't pushed her hard enough to intervene, she'd likely have been ignored. The name sounded familiar, but Rei found she couldn't place it and decided not to try. "Amamiya," Rei said. "Ren."

'Okumura' brightened a little. "Haru. I insist."

Rei let her facade crack slightly, showing Haru a smile. "Very well...a deal, then? I'll assist with your project and you won't report my presence to the school authorities?"

Haru nodded. "That sounds nice...but are you always so formal with everyone?"

"Yes," Rei said. "Long hours in the dojo, I'm afraid. It's been difficult to break the habit."

Haru grinned sheepishly. "That's fine. I just don't want to be treated differently…"

"That will not be a problem," Rei confirmed. "There are few enough people that I speak with that I would not jeopardize that."

Haru gave Rei a sad smile. "All right. For the time being, we'll need to put soil in the planters…"

* * *

Rei had to wash her hands off with the water bottle afterwards, not daring to risk the restrooms in Shujin. _You're being stupid, Rei_ , she chided herself. _No one knows except Ryuji-kun and Mako-chan, and they're on your side._ _You can get away with washing your hands…_

"Hmph. You're really gonna do this?" The sound of the deep, annoyed voice forced Rei to try to remember the past few days. "Where do you think you get off, pushing everyone else around?"

Rei looked around. The man was heavyset, and just starting to go bald. He wore a collared shirt with a dotted blue tie, but had apparently left his coat in his office to go around, his suspenders necessary to hold up his pants. She thought about staying 'Ren,' but seeing no one around she addressed the man in her usual voice. "Ushimaru-sensei," she said, polite but firm. "With all due respect, do you think I haven't had this conversation a thousand times before? If you're asking me as my civics teacher, I can cite a few recent precedents in Japanese court cases that are consistent with international human rights positions."

"I could look up just as many that show you for the little pervert you are," the man barked back. "More, probably."

Rei nodded. "Probably, but they'd be older, and from lower courts. Plus, of course, the law itself is subject to change. If we were just a few kilometers over I could end your career for that pervert crack alone, and in about a year that distance might not matter." Ushimaru-sensei looked like he might have swallowed a lemon and was working up to a truly explosive reply. "That's not a threat," she explained. "Sensei, I know about this stuff because I _have to._ Anyone in my position does." She shrugged. "I won't do anything over this conversation, even in the future. It's not worth the trouble. But Sensei…"

Rei finally just sighed. "Whatever you're worried about, it's _my_ life. Okay? If I'm asked, I'll tell people what's going on as long as they're not annoying about it. But if you think I'd actually wish being a transgirl on _anyone_ , you're dreaming. It's rough enough with the connections to get into a study for blockers and hormones in Japan, and being far enough along that reversal can't be done cold turkey." She looked him in the eye. "I'm not a pervert, I'm not 'corrupting the youth' or anything like that, and I'm not actually out to _be_ disruptive. Can I ask you for at least the same courtesy?"

"No." The teacher's voice was final. "You're correct that I can't actually touch you as long as you behave in school, but I _will_ stop this."

Rei leaned against the water fountain. "You realize I let twenty grown men beat me into the hospital when I was ten to prove I was serious, right? You _don't_ scare me." She glanced down at her watch. "Anyway, looks like I'm going to be late if we don't cut this short."

Ushimura looked, if anything, even more sour. "Kamoshida-sensei let it be known that he intends to talk to you after school." Rei froze. "If you won't listen to me, maybe you'll listen to him."

* * *

 _Shit._ That was the only thing Shiho could think on seeing Rei stiffly walking into the classroom. She was so pale Shiho had briefly confused her for one of Ann's relatives, and the transgirl had apparently forgotten every inch of the act. It had only been a day since Shiho had found out, but seeing the difference between 'Ren' and Rei wearing the male Shujin uniform it was obvious - the slight sway of the hips, the way she was holding her bookbag in front of her instead of over a shoulder, and even the way she held her eyes. _...she really is…_ Her mind shied away from that thought. _Amamiya is in trouble._ That was a safer way to think of it.

Amamiya ignored, or possibly didn't notice her, tripping over the desk at the front of the classroom and then leaning against the windows as she made her way to her seat. While most of the class ignored, or at least pretended to ignore, the transfer student, Ann didn't. "Ah...Amamiya?"

Ann was no less confused. Sure, Ren was strange, but generally nice enough. But this wasn't the first of these weird episodes, and it was starting to get seriously worrying. "Here, come on."

Rei looked up, realizing Ann had already stood and grabbed her wrist. "What?" Ann felt her blood run cold. It wasn't confusion. It was a mix of resignation and sheer dread. She'd heard that tone before, but from Shiho, or some of the other volleyball team members talking to her. She'd even used it herself, although so far it had never been that bad. To hear it out of a 'boy'?

Ann sat back down and twisted in her seat. "Amamiya, what is going on? Ever since you got here everything's gone crazy."

"Can't...can't…" Rei said, then looked around and found herself meeting Shiho's eyes. In an instant, Shiho understood.

While Ann continued to stammer and try to get a reaction, Shiho came across the room. "Kamoshida." It wasn't a question. Amamiya nodded anyway. "Come on. We can put this off one day." A shake of the head. "Ren…" She dropped her voice even lower, so only Ann could hear. "Rei." That got the attention of both of them, but she could deal with Ann later. "Listen to me. We'll do it after school. Hold yourself together. You can go to the nurse's office, go home, sneak back out. Or don't go home. Whatever you want, right?"

Ann looked between Rei and Shiho. "Oh...oh _kami_ what is going _on_?" She kept her voice quiet. "Amamiya, I…"

Shiho gulped. "Rei, we have to tell her."

"...not here."

Shiho nodded. "We'll use the hideout."

Just then Kawakami came in. "Settle down!" Shiho looked over her shoulder at the instructor, then back at Rei, not sure she should return to her seat. "Is there a problem, Shiho-chan?" Kawakami's tone was tight. Word had apparently started to spread that one of the starting volleyball players had chosen to defy Kamoshida, and Shiho knew she was about to have far less leeway at Shuujin Academy for the foreseeable future.

 _Hell with that,_ she thought. "Amamiya-san doesn't seem to be feeling well. I was making certain he was all right."

Kawakami sighed tiredly. "Does he need to go to the nurses' office?"

Shiho swallowed her fear. _Sorry, Rei,_ She nodded.

"Amamiya?"

Rei looked up. Even the normally-exhausted Kawakami noticed her pale complexion, but when Rei shook her head she just returned the gesture with a shake of exasperation. "Suzui, get to your desk."

 _I tried._ Shiho thought, going through the ritual beginning to the school day. _It just wasn't good enough._ She sat through the lessons, barely able to restrain herself from sending a surreptitious message to Niijima before the first break. But send it she did.

* * *

"Rei-chan, this is _insane_." Makoto said just after shutting the door to the student council room. "If we didn't have a plan to finish this, fine. I still wouldn't _agree_ with it but…" She swallowed. "If there's nothing we can do, there's nothing we can do."

"I can do something." Rei said, reaching into one of the side pouches of the bag where Morgana normally rested. The cat slipped out of the bag and looked between the pair. Makoto gasped at the single _sai_ in the side pouch, and was only slightly relieved when Rei reached not for that, but for a smaller device that ended in two wicked points. She flicked it on and it clicked menacingly. "Jam this right in his balls and leave it on till his heart stops."

Makoto shook her head. "How did you get that?"

"Dad," the girl in the boy's uniform responded. "Girl's gotta take care of herself, and that goes double for me, right?" Rei laughed, slightly hysterically.

Morgana looked between the two girls. "Okay, you two are scaring me."

"Well, we can't have _that_ can we?" Rei snapped. "I've just got a ra-" She restrained herself, or perhaps she couldn't actually say the word. "An assault scheduled first thing after school, but sure, you can't be scared."

Makoto really didn't want to haul off and slap Rei, but it was getting harder to try to find other ways to get her attention. "Rei, listen to me. You're not going to that office after school today."

Rei took a deep breath, finally seeming to realize this was a serious conversation "...what, so I can just be expelled instead?"

Makoto shook her head. "Rei-chan, listen to me. I've been going over the budget."

Rei's jaw dropped. Morgana's did too, and he said "Queen, if you tell him anything but what he wants to hear about that, _you're_ the one in for it!"

Makoto nodded. "So I'm not going to _tell him_ anything he doesn't want to hear. I just won't tell him what he wants to hear in a quick way."

Rei shook her head. "No good. How much can the volleyball team go through in a semester?"

"You'd be surprised," Makoto said slyly. "On top of the extra uniforms for a sports team on top of the club itself, there's travel, hotels, tournament fees, school banners and other window dressing...it adds up, and if Kamoshida weren't bringing in all these students we couldn't afford it."

Rei took a deep breath. "Okay, so, that's more than I thought, but can you really keep him busy all afternoon?"

Makoto shook her head, but she was grinning. "I don't have to. I just need to keep him busy until he has to start volleyball practice."

* * *

Shiho and Ann sat up on the roof, carefully avoiding the new planters. Ann ate her sandwich while leaning against the fence, while Shiho had found one of the few desks still intact to pull out her - tiny - store bought bento. "Okay…" Ann said slowly. "Ever since Amamiya got here things have been weird, but what the heck was that about?"

Shiho sighed. "I don't know everything, but it turns out Amamiya is...he's…"

" _She_ ," Ann shot back harshly. Shiho nearly dropped her chopsticks in surprise, not just at the fact that Ann figured it out but that she seemed pissed about it. "Yeah, I knew _that_ much."

Shiho's jaw was still open. She snapped it shut with a click. "How do _you_ know about it?"

"I'm a _model_ , Shiho." Ann shrugged. "Worked with famous people? Some of them are my competition? But, if you _must_ know, I got the full rundown on a shoot a few months ago." She took a bite of her sandwich. "The feature model was. . . . well, like Rei. I was just there to be in the background, and there've been enough incidents that the manager made sure we knew how to be polite. But why is Rei hiding it? Once I knew what to look for, I noticed the hairpins. She'd actually be really cute, especially if she ditched the glasses too."

"That, I don't know." Shiho admitted. "The principal's involved."

Ann winced. "Oh. Yeah. I admit, it took me a few hours to get over it, but Kimiko was really nice, so. . . " She shrugged. "Hard to believe, if Rei's really anything like Kimiko, that she really got in trouble." Then Ann felt sick. "Wait, so . . . what, Kamoshida knows too, and that's why. . . " When Shiho just nodded again, Ann carefully wrapped the sandwich and put it away.

Shiho winced. "I'm. . . I'm sorry you had to hear that."

Something in Shiho's voice brought her up short. "Wait, you thought I was. . . "

"To protect me, right?" Shiho said.

Ann shook her head. "I . . . no, I hadn't yet, but I had to let him think he was. . . going to, maybe? He kept saying if I didn't, he'd need to find someone else…"

Ann never knew what hit her. One minute, Shiho was sitting down, the next her bento was scattered over the ground and Ann found her best friend since middle school holding her tighter than she had since the end of their second year as the high school exams had put a practical end to their 'relationship.' "Wait, wha - " Then Shiho was kissing her.

They stayed like that for several moments, until Ann pushed her down. "...Shiho...what?"

Shiho flushed, mortified at her own behavior. "I'm. . . I'm so sorry, I didn't think."

"It's fine." Ann sounded more confused than anything. "Uhh...so...uh…" She couldn't quite think of anything to say, so she went with the first thing out of her mouth. "Is. . . that why you haven't had a boyfriend?"

Shiho looked as if she wanted to sink right through the floor. "I. . . no, there was never anyone else I was as interested in. Boy _or_ girl."

Ann choked. "I. . . I see. And I guess going to Shujin girls weren't an option anyway."

"Oh, who _cares_? The important thing is you were doing all that, trashing your reputation, maybe even your job, for _me_?" Shiho looked as if, having vocalized it, she wanted to try to kiss Ann again in gratitude, but restrained herself.

Ann smiled. "Well, yeah. We're friends, right?" Her eyes fell on the spilled bento. "Oh, your lunch!" She pulled the half-eaten sandwich. "Uh...you can have the rest of mine if you want."

"...yeah, I'll take you up on that." Shiho said, reluctantly. "I didn't get much to eat for breakfast this morning."

* * *

It was the end of the day, and Rei was feeling a little better about things. A little. She felt even better when, on leaving the classroom, she spotted Ryuji coming out of his down the hall and waving to her. Grinning, she turned to meet him. _Maybe we can slip off to that onsen for a 'quick soak' for me_ , she thought. _Just enough time for everyone to go home. I already told Sojiro that I'd be late helping Mako-chan. We get out of here, I get changed, we come back, and_ finally _take care of this tonight._

Rei's heart stopped for several beats when a hand landed on her shoulder. "Hey, you weren't thinking about running out on a teacher, were you Amamiya?" Kamoshida squeezed down in what was assuredly meant to be a friendly gesture. It didn't help.

 _Okay, okay, remember the plan._ "Uh, Sensei, is this a disciplinary meet? Only, if it is, it can probably wait. Niijima-senpai said she had found some money for you in the budget, but she needed to talk abou - "

"Hey, don't you _want_ to spend some time with me?" Kamoshida's voice was suddenly cold.

Rei froze, when her attention was drawn to an angry voice. "What do you mean, canceled?!" It was Ann, yelling into her phone. "I wasn't, I mean, I was counting on that ride." Suddenly, Rei felt her attention sharpen. The phone's speaker wasn't playing, and the screen wasn't on. "Yes, yes, I understand…" Then she put the phone down and feigned a surprised look. "Oh, Sensei….uhm...it looks like I need a ride home today…"

 _What the_ hell _?_ Rei's eyes flicked to Shiho, who nodded. So Ann knew. Not everything, but probably something. But it wasn't enough.

Pulling Rei to him posessively, in a way she was positive Kamoshida would never try with a cisgirl, he said "Sure thing, Ann-chan. But for the moment…" And suddenly Rei found herself being pulled down the hallway, towards the athletic building and Kamoshida's 'private' office.

She had actually avoided the place until now, getting by on washing down in the non-gendered bathroom with paper towels and fresh applications of deodorant. Far from adequate, but this wasn't the time to dwell.

Unlike his main office, which had a large number of binders with students' data scattered everywhere, this was neat. Although that probably had to do with the fact that this was just for the sports teams, and the only one Kamoshida cared about was the Volleyball Team. The room also, improbably, had a cot with a rather soft looking mattress, and a privacy screen stolen from the nurses' office. Beside the clear desk sat a large minifridge that Rei was _sure_ didn't only contain icepacks.

"So, what do you think?" Kamoshida asked. "I bet you thought when I offered you my shower, it was some nasty thing so I thought I'd better show you." There was, indeed, a shower sitting there. It even looked nice. When the school was built, it had no doubt had the standard industrial shower-head, but maybe some regulation for handicapped students had come through mandating the replacement with a detachable massage showerhead. _Or, more likely…_ Rei thought _The regulation made Shuujin change out the shower head, even though there's no disabled students, and Kamoshida just swapped in the nice one himself._ And even she had to admit, if she could stomach the cost, it would be nice.

"Well, go on." Kamoshida said.

Rei swallowed. _Come on, Mako-chan!_

There was a knock on the door.

* * *

"What the hell?!" Ryuji screamed at Ann as soon as Kamoshida was out of earshot. "If you know what's goin' on, why didn't you try to stop them?!"

"I wasn't _trying_ to stop him!" Ann shouted back. "Shiho just wanted me to slow him down so Niijima could do it! I just hope I bought enough time."

"That was...scary." Shiho said slowly. "Kamoshida's _never_ that nice. He must have the wrong idea about Rei if he thinks she'll . . . "

Ryuji swallowed. "Yeah. If he tries anything, one of them's not coming out of that office alive." The three of them looked at each other. "...we'd better get down there. Better expelled than dead."

* * *

Makoto realized her mistake as soon as she'd opened the door to the teachers' lounge. She immediately said something that got the attention of everyone in the general teachers' office, and sprinted off to the athletic building the the budget folders before anyone could say anything. _I'm going to pay for that later, but there won't_ be _a later if I don't hurry._ Taking the steps three at a time and nearly bowling over a girl in another third-year class with unusually fluffy hair, she arrived at Kamoshida's _other_ office to wait.

A minute later, she realized waiting wasn't doing any good and knocked on the door. It cracked open. "Yes, Niijima-san?" he asked, looking her over. "Uhm, we've had a bit of a situation. One of the students scraped her leg, and she's very sensitive about it."

 _Like Hell_ Makoto thought, but just said "Ah...yeah, sure. Can you give me a few minutes once she's patched up? Just something I need to discuss about the budget before I take it to the rest of the Student Council."

"Yeah, sure, if I get this done before practice." Then the door slammed shut. Ryuji, Shiho, and Takamaki came up just a few seconds later.

"Well?" Ryuji demanded.

Makoto shook her head. "We're too late. It's my fault, I went to the wrong office to stop them."

"No way in Hell we're too late." Ryuji rolled up his sleeves and tested the door. "What? Locked?!" He looked at the frame. "That wood's old. Bet if we tried we could bust it down."

Makoto bit her lip…

* * *

Kamoshida turned around to pick up where he'd left off. What he didn't anticipate was that Rei carrieed a cat in her tote bag. Morgana was not, as cats went, unusually large. He was, however, unusually pissed off. "How DARE you insult a lady! Even one as unladylike as Rei!"

Kamoshida couldn't understand him, of course, so just said "What the heck? How'd a cat get in - " then his world was pain, as Morgana's teeth sank into his hamstring. He lashed out, and Morgana found himself dislodged instantly and slamming into the wall. He wasn't hurt badly, but it turned out neither was Kamoshida. His eyes fell on Rei.

Rei had not been idle during the distractions. She had gotten to her bag and was fumbling for the weapons intended for self-defense when she felt her hair being torn loose from the pins holding it into an approximation of a decent boy's haircut. She cried in pain as she was completely jerked back into the gym teacher's embrace. "C'mon, call'em off." Kamoshida said. "After all, you're just a newhalf, right? Don't you get off on this stuff?" His other hand reached up under her shirt, toying with the front latch of the sports bra and pulling it loose.

Rei squirmed uncomfortably under the attention. _Dammit, it's just biology_ she thought, gasping slightly. _He's done this enough that he knows just how much to do to make it feel good._ It was awful, and she felt stirrings in body parts she didn't like thinking about as he continued while she tried to think.

"Girl, don't make this difficult. I've tried being nice." Rei understood the implications of Kamoshida's statement all too well. If there was another interruption, it was her friends that would pay for it. While Rei was trying to decide, the belt buckle on her pants was undone and they slowly slid down, revealing her underwear.

 **WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!** _ **KA-RACHK!**_ Ryuji tumbled into the office, with Makoto, Shiho, and Ann behind him. Ann, showing more wit than Rei had credited the blonde with, had her cell out and was busy snapping pictures. "Lay _off_ Kamoshida!" Ryuji snarled, "She ain't interested, and you're a fucking _teacher!_ "

Rei pulled up her pants and scrambled away, Morgana close behind. The _sai_ was the first weapon out of her bag, and she quickly gripped it with the blade against her wrist. "Th..thanks."

Kamoshida snarled. "...you don't dare release that, or it's the tranny's ass too. Besides, no one will believe it wasn't consensual, with her looking like that." He crossed his arms. "I'll have you out of school in three days, tops. All of you."

"On what charges?" Makoto demanded calmly.

Kamoshida smiled, back in control of the situation. "Sakamoto damaged school property. That door's going to have to be replaced, and it won't be cheap. And the rest of you didn't do anything to stop him. And if pictures of Amamiya in girls' underwear are your only counter-argument…" He gave Rei a meaningful look. "Unless you wanna come home with me tonight…"

Rei's fingers clenched around the _sai_. It wasn't the ideal weapon for removing body parts like she really wanted to do, but she was fast and pissed off. One well-timed thrust into the eye and this living sack of excrement would be well on his way to Hell where he belonged.

Shiho reached out and squeezed Rei's shoulder. That was all it took to remind her that there were other options. "We'll...we'll see tomorrow." she said instead. "Something like this ruins the mood, you understand." She wasn't sincere, of course.

Kamoshida smirked. "Get back in the mood. Tonight. After volleyball practice. Or. Else. Now, get out of my office."

* * *

In the alleyway the team used as a jumping off point to the Palace, Morgana was pacing. "Dammit, first heist and it's all gone straight to Hell." He sat down. "Guys, I know I should've said this sooner but we need at least an extra day. The Treasure isn't actually physical yet, we need to do something to change his cognition so he believes it can be taken."

Rei cursed. Then Makoto did for an entirely different reason. "We're going to have to explain everything," the latter said.

"Right. Ann?" Rei said. "Brace yourself, this is gonna smart." Before Ann could object, she said "Shujin. Kamoshida. Castle."

The reaction was predictable. First, a groan of pain as the initial headache hit. Then staring at Morgana, before catching look of the other Thieves. "Wait, what? So you're superheroes?!"

"Phantom Thieves, Ann-dono," Morgana corrected.

Joker nodded. "Pretty much. We're here to steal whatever's causing Kamoshida's heart to do these things...or we were." She quickly repeated Morgana's explanation. "See, this area is basically Kamoshida's mind." She pointed at the castle that had replaced the school. "Got all that?"

"Not...really…" Ann admitted. "And Shiho, how could you keep this from me!?"

Joker shook her head. "It's not her fault. It turns out a mind's a dangerous place. I didn't even want to bring you here, but…" She smiled. "You've just been made an accomplice. After all, you have the most important job of all."

"Huh? Me?" Ann asked, shocked. "But, I'm not a super hero or a phantom thief or whatever it is."

"Yeah, but...well, like I said. This is Kamoshida's mind. He needs to have his understanding of the world changed. The rest of us need to be the ones to be ready to steal this Treasure when it manifests….but you need to make it manifest from the real world."

Ann swallowed, but really, there wasn't any choice. Their lives were about to be ruined anyway. "How do I do that?"

Morgana blinked. "Joker, that's brilliant!" He turned to Ann. "Okay, My Lady, it's simple. You're going to need to leave Kamoshida the best calling card you can manage on short notice. It has to tell him that Phantom Thieves have noticed his twisted heart, and that we will steal his desires and make him confess his crimes by doing it."

Ann nodded. "Got it. I'm pretty good in art class. Not tops, but I can manage something. Now, how do I leave."

Queen was all business. "Head down to the other end of the alley while thinking about returning to the real world. Just remember, you can't be seen. No cameras, either. It would probably be best if you didn't handle the paper with your bare hands either."

"I know which car's Kamoshida's, and he doesn't bother to lock the door," Ann said. "I can do it."

Skull grinned. "Hey, Takamaki, I know we ain't been on the best terms since middle school, but hey. Good luck."

Angel blushed hard enough that it was visible on the cheeks below her mask. "Uh...yeah. Ann, please be safe."

Queen gave it another moment's thought, then reached into her pouch and pulled out a set of keys. Tossing them to Ann, she smirked. "Just in case you need to hide in the school. Lock up behind yourself if that happens."

Joker grinned. "Oh, and don't be afraid to grease any palms you have to. If it comes to that, I'll pay you back." Everyone gave her a weird look. "Hey, when you get to it I _am_ the daughter of one of the top five richest guys in town back home. I don't _like_ it but money talks. Just don't get more ridiculous than seems reasonable and people will probably just take the money and run."

"Got it." Ann said. Joker gave her a thumbs-up.


	8. Chapter 8

Ann was slowly panicking. The truth was, she had no artistic skills. She didn't even dare look it up on her phone. She knew she wasn't too smart, but if someone caught the calling card being made on school equipment, the teachers could demand her phone and look at her internet history. _Okay, Ann, Shiho and Ren -_ Rei _are counting on you. And I guess Ryuji and Niijima. What do I need?_ She thought about it. _I can probably steal some cardboard and paste from the art room...do any clubs meet there today?_ She couldn't recall. _Screw it, I'll just pay them back if they're there. I'll also need to go to the computer lab._ Having settled that in her head, she went back into the school.

And immediately ran right into Kamoshida. He scowled at her. "You've got a lot of nerve…"

Ann gulped. "I just forgot a few things." She glanced around the lobby nervously, but everyone had either left or were in their club rooms.

Then Kamoshida was holding her, his hands resting gently on her rear. "You know...I _might_ be persuaded to forget the whole thing…"

Ann bit her lip, going for 'aroused.' "Well, y'know, Rei's just not into you. I mean, no accounting for taste, right?"

"You'd think he would be," Kamoshida said. Ann tried not to wince. "Just one of those sluts, right?"

She giggled nervously. "Well, maybe, but...well, anyway, I had to get my stuff first, but how about that ride back to your place?"

"Sure thing, Ann-chan," Kamoshida said with a squeeze. "Just remember what happens if you don't. I haven't told Kabayokawa yet about the door, and it can wait…"

* * *

"I don't get it." Skull said, kicking a random stone. "Where is everyone?" That was the main question. A few minutes of sneaking around had revealed to the Phantom Thieves that the first floor had been completely abandoned, the Shadows apparently having pulled back up to higher floors to tighten the defenses. The only exception was the stairs in the main hall. While the Shadows were visible there, several fixtures that could have been used to leverage their way up while bypassing the secondary stairs in the back were now rubble. The guards stood above them, watching but not attacking. Skull turned his eyes upward to stare at them. "I don't like it."

Joker frowned in concentration. "Obviously, they want us to take the back stairs. Narrow, there's still a portcullis on that door, and the bare stone echoes wonderfully. Perfect for an ambush."

Queen agreed with the assessment. "Still, we have to get up there and time's short. We have to find what we're looking for before…" she considered how to phrase this part "...our accomplice is in position."

Morgana piped up. "Joker, let's go over what I was going to with you the other day before we got interrupted." He led them to a side hallway. "What's your intuition tell you?"

Joker frowned and narrowed her eyes in concentration. "...there's...a hint of gold, in that vase." She pointed to one of half a dozen of the fixtures through the hall. Morgana leapt over to it and pulled out a small band of yellowish metal wire. "...okay, but how does that help us?"

Morgana grinned. "Gold. Real gold."

"...but it's from the Metaverse," Angel pointed out. "Won't it just...dissolve or something?"

"Nope!" Morgana declared. "Stuff like this is important to people, so it keeps its' reality even if you bring it back to the physical world."

Joker smiled. "Well, that's finances taken care of if we can find someone to launder it…" She sighed. "But how does that help now?"

"Use your sight." Morgana said. "We might find a hidden lever or something."

Another sweep of the floor, much faster, revealed another half dozen or so trinkets, but no levers. She checked her phone. "...We've been here almost twenty minutes in the real world already."

"Wait, for real?" Skull asked. "Feels like hours."

Queen sighed. "Metaphors again. We're moving at 'the speed of thought.' But so are the enemies. No wonder we're so exhausted after every trip. We must have been doing the equivalent of pulling an all nighter."

Joker grinned. "Study session in Mementos tomorrow? We can hit the arcade after and still get to bed early, after all." Skull and Angel both groaned, but Queen looked like she was considering it. Joker shook her head. "Anyway, I have an idea. Queen, you've got a mental map of the school and how it relates to the castle, right?"

* * *

"Go away." The door to the art club slammed in Ann's face. She sighed, and knocked again. "Look, Takamaki, we don't need a model today."

Ann tried very hard to smile without baring her teeth in a snarl. She actually succeeded, it was usually just when she opened her mouth that she failed to hide her real feelings. Today, though, the mixture of worry and outrage she was feeling kept it under control. "I'm not here for that. I just needed to borrow some art supplies."

The girl who had opened the door had short hair, and her uniform was perfect, and perfectly regulation, underneath the large smock. "What kind of supplies?"

Ann pulled out a 500 yen coin. "I just need to make a gift card on the school's computer, but I don't think they have any of that fancy paper in the computer lab."

The head of the art club looked like she was about to snort in derision, but the flash of gold caught her attention just as Rei had predicted. "Yeah, okay. I'm pretty sure we've got some card stock in the cupboard somewhere. Not much call for it. Just wait a second."

The door closed again. Ann almost wanted to scream into the tension, but held back right up until Chuono-sensei, the English teacher, popped up right behind her. "Takamaki-san, Kamoshida Sensei said he'd given you strict orders to wait for him _outside._ "

Ann turned around with a soft gulp. "He won't be done with volleyball practice for hours, will he?" The teacher looked decidedly unimpressed. "I just needed to do something."

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Phone." Ann handed it over, grateful that she had never texted any of the Phantom Thieves about….well, anything. Except Shiho, and their friendship was well-known. After a few minutes, the door behind her opened and she gratefully took the card stock, the teacher still obsessively poking away at her phone.

Then she saw Rei coming up the stairs, Makoto close behind, and tried very hard not to give anything away. They looked at her, smiled, and vanished. Ann couldn't help it. She gasped, and Chuono-sensei glanced over her shoulder. "What? What is it?"

"Nothing, nothing!" Ann said, a give-away sing-song tone to her voice. But, well, there was literally nothing to see, so eventually the phone was handed back to her.

* * *

At the top of the stairs, two guards in golden armor stared down at the little minx who had suddenly waltzed in the other day and become the head of the guard. **"Look, it's the perfect trap. Those damn thieves** _ **have**_ **to come through here. The watch on the balconies already reported they're ransancking the first floor. That's fine, we moved all the important stuff up here."**

One of the guards grunted at her. **"Yeah, well, why don't you get back to the harem where you belong, runt?"**

 **"Excuse me?!"** The Rei cognition put her hands on her hips defiantly. **"King Kamoshida put** _ **me**_ **in charge."**

 **"And so far…"** The other said **"...you've failed to stop them. So why should we listen to you?"**

The girl still technically in charge made a gesture and lightning bolts dropped from the sky. Turning to walk away, from the scorched, slightly smoking creatures, she snorted. **"Shadows. Can't live with'em, can't get decent replacements."**

The two Shadows slowly regained life over the next few minutes, sitting up and looking at each other. **"Bitch."** One said.

It hardly mattered which one, because suddenly Joker was behind them, with her hands under their face masks. "That's 'Miss Bitch' to the likes of you." Skull had his shotgun pointed directly at the backs of their heads, while Angel had her spear high and poised to strike. It was all over in seconds. "Right, casual misogyny aside, we're in. Thanks Queen."

Morgana shook his head. "I'd have never thought of using the Nav as a teleporter."

Queen looked thoughtful. "More like a wormhole. We took a shortcut through the intervening space in the Metaverse using the real world. It was just lucky everyone was busy in clubs. That was a real risk, Joker. We can't use it very often."

Morgana nodded. "Plus we can't count on every Palace having such a straightforward relationship to the real world. Usually the deeper you get, the greater the distortion is and the less you can rely on the idea."

"Right." Joker shrugged. "We're good for now, anyway." They crept down the hallway, only to find a dead end. For about two seconds, but then she found a brick in one wall loose. "...wow. That other me's _really_ determined."

Angel frowned. "What does it mean?"

Queen rolled her eyes. "Kamoshida put up this wall in a hurry."

Skull grinned. "Time to show what I can do. **CAPTAIN KIDD!** " The pirate appeared, riding his ship. Joker's eyes widened as, seemingly in slow motion, Kidd lined up his canon with the wall and fired. She forced herself to keep her eyes open, despite the choking clouds, until it cleared enough that she could see. _...well I'll be damned._ While there were Shadows waiting on the other side, they apparently hadn't been expecting an explosive assault. Joker quickly capitalized on it, charging through and ripping off their masks before they could recover. She rolled through, landing on her feet...and froze.

The shrunken little things were humanoid shaped, red skinned and with an oversized head. The little devil horns gave their hungry expressions teeth, and their tails lashed in anticipation, but what drew Rei's attention was the appendage between their legs, a giant horn.

"A-Adler!" Rei tried to shout, but she couldn't feel her Persona's presence. She suddenly felt weak, as if something vital were being drained from her in their presence.

" _ **Weak**_ **little girl,** " one of them hissed, drawing closer.

" **NOREA!** " came the shout from Angel. "Banish them!" Heavenly light opened up from above as the image of the divine messenger appeared between Rei and the Incubi. They screeched and fell to the ground while Joker managed to recover.

Joker pulled out her gun in one swift motion and put a bullet in each of their heads, finishing them. Then, for good measure, she put one between each pair of legs before reloading. "Th-thanks Angel."

Queen and Skull gave each other a significant look. "Joker, if you want we can handle the rest." Skull said, surprising Queen by beating her to the punch.

Joker shook her head. "No way. I just wasn't expecting that." She looked to Morgana. "Any other unpleasant surprises like that potentially on the way?"

Morgana shrugged. "Not sure what you're talking about, but if you can imagine it there's _probably_ a Shadow somewhere that looks like it. We don't have time for another rest day, so if you're not sure, maybe you can wait in the courtyard of the top level of the subway station."

Joker stopped to seriously consider it. "No." Her voice was more sure now. "I can't make anyone do anything I won't do myself. Besides, I'm going to have to face Kamoshida's Shadow at some point. Compared to that…"

Queen frowned. "Joker, if you freeze again…"

Joker shook her head. "I don't think I will." She reached into her jacket, and found what she was looking for. Three of the macaroons, looking a little shrunken, fell out of a plastic bag. Joker greedily ate each one in rapid succession, then followed it with the contents of a sealed thermos. "...there. Much better."

* * *

Unlike the school clubs, the computer lab was open after school, in theory for students who couldn't afford their own personal computers. In practice, the school didn't use the national internet infrastructure for schools. Since that meant that almost all of the teachers still required all work be hand-written, the lab had been turned into a place to goof off. It would probably have been worse if the computers had been any more up-to-date, but Shuujin was in Tokyo, so the fiber connection was exploited without mercy even if the computers themselves weren't.

Of course, they required individual student logins. Ann couldn't even remember hers, so she'd need a distraction. She looked for something, _anything_ she could use, when of all the ridiculous things Mishima limped right into her. They both fell back onto the ground. "Oww!" Ann cried, then snapped her mouth shut.

Mishima looked at her. "What brings you down here?"

Ann laughed. "Oh, you know…" She frowned. "Uhm...I needed to do something, but - "

"Kamoshida was muttering about you." Mishima said nervously. "He was . . . well, I don't wanna talk about it."

Ann gulped. "Yeah...there's something I needed to do to get out of that, but I don't remember my password."

There was a very long pause. "...how bad?"

"Excuse me?"

"How bad do you want it?" Mishima asked. "And how big is it likely to get me in trouble?"

"Uhm...not very?" Ann said.

Mishima nodded. "Okay, but I want a selfie with you."

It didn't take Ann very much effort to see why - the prettiest, most exotic girl in school, plus a model besides? Yeah, for the little nerd that would be months of bragging rights. She tried very hard not to grit her teeth. "Okay, but not here or now, all right?"

Mishima grinned sheepishly. "Okay, sure thing. You're in a hurry. Just remember, if you _don't_ pay up I can always tell the teachers about this conversation. And I can wipe my own history. Seriously, the school doesn't care at _all_ about the computers."

Ann followed Mishima in, waited for him to log in, then got to work looking online for _just_ the right font.

* * *

Queen's earlier estimate proved to be reasonably accurate. The group were able to move from shadow to shadow, ambushing enemies as they went. As Morgana had predicted, unlike the first floor the second proved to be much more extensive than the school. Queen tried to keep a mental map of the place going.

Unfortunately, after three turns, and opening a door to a library that was twice as long as the hallway they had just turned off of, she was forced to concede defeat. "...it's bigger on the inside." The room had a plush red carpet, multiple fireplaces, and several busts of Kamoshida sitting in front of pillars.

Joker perked up at Queen's comment. "Wait, you watch that show?" On seeing Queen's confusion, Joker couldn't hide her disappointment. "Damn. I heard a rumor they were gonna change the main character to a woman a couple of years ago. I already knew Engli-sorry." That last was when everyone was glaring at her. "Anyway, there's probably something important in here." She glanced around, but saw no Shadows lurking. "Okay, we're good. Spread out."

They did as instructed, Joker electing to keep watch over the room as a whole with Morgana while Skull, Queen, and Angel started looking over the titles. Skull snarled first. "Damn, there's a book here with my name on it. Big one." Joker gave Morgana a sidelong glance, and the cat spirit nodded. Joker opened up the book to read it. "Wow...this is some of the worst handwriting I've ever seen." She got more glares for that one. "Sorry." She went back to reading. "Yep, looks like every thought he's ever given to Skull is catalogued here. It's all pretty jumbled, though. If I didn't know better, I'd say he's obsessed."

Angel gulped. "Uhh...here's one for Ann."

Morgana immediately perked up. "Hey, what's in it? It might be a clue."

Joker shook her head. "We know what it says. Put it back." Morgana made a noise of protest, but Joker snarled. "Put it _back_ , Angel. I refuse to be part of that kind of voyeurism." Angel - reluctantly - returned it to the shelf. Joker sighed. "If you really want to read your own book, knock yourself out, but no one else's, okay. Sorry for peeking into yours, Skull."

Skull shrugged nonchalantly. "Hey, it's cool. We didn't know."

"Is it really that bad, Joker?" Queen asked. "After all, it's just a record of Kamoshida's thoughts."

Joker nodded. "It is. It's not just his thoughts, it's also his _memories._ Not all of his victims are going to want to be exposed, even if he admits guilt and goes to prison. Hell, some of them might have been willing, even if they were underage at the time. We're not looking for proof of wrongdoing anymore, so there's no point."

Queen nodded. "Now that you spell it out like that, I suppose I can't argue." She lifted another book off the shelf. "On the other hand, this one's about the Olympics." When Joker, hesitantly, nodded her assent, Queen opened it up. "Let's see...it says...ouch." She coughed. "'I just got told that the final's my last game. Coach said I'm slowing down, and in four years I'm not going to be able to play at this level. There's no assistant coach positions, so I'm done…'" She skipped ahead a bit. "There's a discussion of the injuries inflicted on the other team during the match, then…'I like it. The thrill of victory, bringing defeat and misery to the opposition. If I train harder…'" She shook her head. "Even back then…"

Skull pounded his fist into his hand. "It's fucking _volleyball_ , not martial arts like you guys. He was causin' fouls even back then?"

Morgana mrowled softly. "Even if Joker's safety weren't on the line, we'd have to take this guy down."

Angel frowned. "How does any of this help us?"

Joker shook her head. "I'm not sure it does. But there's nowhere else to go right now, so keep looking. Anything out of place, especially."

There was some more browsing. Joker tried to glance around to see if her intuition pointed anything out, but other than some loose silver coins (which she promptly pocketed) there wasn't anything. Skull pulled one out. "Hey, Angel, here's yours."

Joker frowned. "Wait, are there any other girls on that shelf?"

Skull spent a good, long time looking. "Doesn't look like it. Guess this one was misfiled."

Queen immediately exclaimed "No, it was _intentionally_ put there. I bet if we find where it goes it'll...well, it'll do something."

Morgana smirked. "Open up a secret passage, probably. There's always a secret passage in old castles like this."

A little more rummaging revealed another book out of place. Queen discovered, among the books about Kamoshida, there was one with gold lettering on the spine. "Ren Amamiya." Seeing Rei go pale, she said "Well, he's using the right kanji for a girl, even if it's your old name. Does he know you're trying to change it?"

"...the teachers all do, probably," Rei said, closing her eyes tightly. "...doesn't matter except it's in the wrong spot. Put it with the other one." Queen obeyed silently. Another moment later, Angel had found another book.

Queen looked down at the collection with apprehension. "Are we sure this is a good idea? Reshuffling Kamoshida's memories may have unpredictable effects in here."

"...well, it's either that…" Skull said slowly "...or we find another weak wall to bust through."

Joker nodded to Skull. "Okay. Easy enough to put them on the right shelves." Morgana grabbed one, Queen another, and Angel a third. Joker pulled her gun out and pointed it at the doorway. "In case this sets something off. Skull, with me." She waited a moment for the others to get in position. "Queen, gun out. Angel, you don't have a firearm yet, and Morgana's is two handed. Ready?" With a chorus of agreements, Joker added "Now!"

As soon as the last book slammed home, the Palace shook as if in an earthquake. Dust and loose pebbles tumbled down from the ceiling while Morgana and Skull were knocked off their feet. Angel went down a second later, and then the door burst open. No suits of armor this time - the Shadow had the form of an angel, resplendent in armor. It had to sidle through the door, and Skull wasted no time opening up with his submachine gun. Joker added her own shots to the mix, carefully taking aim for the head in the hopes of forcing it to look away. Amazingly, it seemingly ignored the bullets and took flight once it was in the room. " **Slaves and Servants, bow before the great Kamoshida**."

Queen's answer was one last shot. When it also bounced off the Archangel's armor, she reached up to her mask. The Archangel stretched out his hand in an imperious gesture, and blades filled the room, ripping through the air and clothing. Cries of agony filled the library as the thieves collapsed. The Archangel floated gently to Joker, lifting up her chin. " **Poor, damned soul. Repent and serve.** " Joker tried to raise one hand.

" **CAPTAIN KIDD!** " Skull's cry came with a lightning bolt that knocked the Shadow to one side. "I...ain't gonna serve no one! And neither. Is. REI!"

Joker grinned. " **ADLER!** " Another lance of plasma finally shocked the Shadow and sent it to its' knees. Queen was quick to capitalize, putting her revolver to the back of its' head. To ensure the threat was clear, she wedged it between the angel's helmet and breastplate. Joker stood up and looked it in the eyes. "I will never. Bow. To Kamoshida. Now, you are going to serve me, got that?"

" **A...as thou wishes, dark one. Hopefully this will one day lead you to redemption. I am Thou.** "

"Thou art I." Joker accepted the spirit into her soul. Then she looked around as a bookshelf slid into the wall and aside. "...Who's next."

 **The corruption of this one to your justice will be** _ **fun**_ **…** Rei tried to ignore Adler's whisper for the moment.

* * *

Kamoshida Suguru was having a good day. Takamaki was finally going to put out, he could probably pressure Suzui back onto the team...and also to put out, really. Maybe a threesome. Then there was Amamiya, who'd come around. In hindsight, he'd pushed the newhalf too hard. Fresh conviction, new city, probably a breakup. He knew from the files she'd had a boyfriend, so that couldn't be it.

He remembered the one time he'd made the mistake of coming on to an actual lesbian, and he'd nearly lost his job. She'd taken the deal, gotten out of the club, and no fuss. Girl hadn't been stupid, she'd threatened to go to the cops. Kabayokawa didn't tolerate "deviants" in "his" school, but that kinda thing was fine as far as Suguru cared. At least as long as it didn't affect his little minions.

And speaking of that, he noted appreciatively that one particular rumor he'd had Mishima plant online had succeeded way past any plans he had made. A few of the first-year girls hoping to try out for the team had surreptitiously replaced their gym bloomers with bikini bottoms. Rather tight ones. Even one of the third-years (Ito, he thought) who hadn't made the team last year had returned to the club with the non-standard uniform item. _Might actually have to give the twerp some credit. Maybe I'll put him at the end of the rotation for a game. It'll just show him he's not ready for the big time, but hey, if the abuse he goes through didn't prove that to him he might just be good for_ something.

Still, as much as he'd enjoy it, Kamoshida realized that this might be pushing things a little farther than he should. Locker rooms, car backseats, and his apartment were one thing. Out in the gym going _that_ far would lead to a cell phone vid getting out on the net.

Kamoshida thought that over for another moment. Well, he'd never actually _told_ the girls they _couldn't._ No need to embarrass them by calling them out if no one had noticed. He'd talk to them after the club practice and before the team stayed after. If someone got a video today, well, that was enough of a fig leaf.

He blew his whistle and called out another drill. As his subjects lined up to do his bidding, Kamoshida let his mind wander again. That wasn't a big deal, really. He could run the kids through this in his sleep, and it was a little early in the year for the _special_ training. At least in the club - the competition team was mostly returning students. He'd have his fun later.

Sakamoto. Now that was something he'd been looking forward to for awhile. He'd been fun just after the 'accident' but the truth was the routine was getting old. It was long past time to clean house on that account. Niijima was a nice piece of ass, but….yeah, prosecutor's sister, not touching that one.

Not that he'd object if she touched him. Plausible deniability. That was what it was all about. Well, that and results. The fun wasn't the reason he was so hard on the team, after all. Pushing them and eliminating the weak was the only way to get the best team possible out of this pool of losers.

* * *

The next section was a maze of twisty little passages, all alike. Rough hewn passages with torches in sconces along the wall turned endlessly back on themselves in truly impossible ways, leaving the teens confused and disoriented almost instantly. "Where the heck are we?" Skull asked.

Rei groaned. "If I had to guess, the part of his mind dedicated to self-justification. It'll probably be a shortcut to the upper levels if we can get ourselves unlost."

Morgana snorted. "It's not _usually_ that simple...but I don't have any better ideas, so let's go with it."

They crept onwards, but no Shadows bothered them in this place. Evidently either Kamoshida's Shadow didn't know about it, or he was counting on time to finish them off. They started to slowly chew their way through the snacks in their infinite pouches simply to keep their energy up, until finally Rei spotted a torch whose flame didn't seem right. She reached up, twisted it, and the wall opened to reveal a nightmare.

There were silhouettes of girls everywhere, wearing only their gym bloomers. That wasn't a euphemism, the 'girls' were like three-dimensional cutouts in black, changing so that, no matter what angle you looked at them from, they looked like a cardboard cutout of a girl with the only color being their single garment. The worst part was the sounds. They were moaning in ecstasy, nameless and faceless, just pleasure.

Except in the middle of the room. The Rei Cognition was sitting in the middle, her eyes glazed over and squirming in place. Joker blinked, then squinted, looking her over more closely. The short skirt made it perfectly clear that she was either a cisgirl or putting up with some rather extreme discomfort to make that costume work. Joker could honestly relate to that in her own outfit. The other thing was that, rather than the completely ridiculous proportions she had sported during the first attack, now she was...well, not _quite_ as slim as the real thing, she was more or less what Joker was hoping to look like at some point. The Cognition looked like she wanted to say something, but then something momentarily seized her and she let out a moan that was eerily similar to the faded images around her.

Queen looked like she wanted to be violently ill. Joker snapped her eyes to Morgana. "What's going on?"

Morgana's eyes were wide. "Kamoshida must have tossed her in here. You're just one more girl to break now."

Skull snorted. "Well, good riddance. Maybe we won't get any more stupid traps."

Angel seemed unconvinced. "But...she's so real. Are you sure she's...okay?"

"Well, she was created to be a special girl by Kamoshida's mind. I'm guessing a lot of girls get something like that spot. There's still that Ann wandering around…" Joker shrugged.

The Cognition's eyes seemed to lock on Joker's. **"No! Please! Don't leave me here!"**

Joker's eyes narrowed. "What?"

" **I…"** The Cognition swallowed. **"I don't want to...to be this."**

Joker snarled. "You tried to do it to me! Why shouldn't I just leave you to it?"

'Rei' whimpered. **"I can feel it creeping into my head….no thoughts but His Majesty, and...and...you know."** She closed her eyes, shivering. **"Please...not like this…"**

"...how do we know you won't just turn on us to try to get back into Kamoshida's good graces?" Joker asked.

There was another voice in her head. **Do not be deceived. This is not even a Shadow, just a piece of the Palace. It will try to lead you astray.**

Joker glanced at her friends, then at the Cognition again. "...how would I get you out without being caught myself?"

" **Just...just open the door over there."** 'Rei' said. **"I can't touch it, but…"** Joker shivered, looking over her double. She gasped, realizing that there was a flash of red underneath that short yukata.

"I guess. Will the room do anything to us?"

'Rei' shook her head. **"I...I don't think so. Not if you're just here for a few minutes. Besides, you're human, I'm not. Maybe a few days, or if Kamoshida were in here to influence you…"**

Morgana nodded. "So, no. Not as long as we have our Personas."

"Always be kind." Joker said, cutting off any further attempts to argue. She stepped into the harem and up to the door. "I don't know _what_ you are, or even if you're real or just a really good guess at how I'd be. I'd rather not take the chance you're alive in some sense." She opened the door, and in a flash the Cognition was gone.

Queen swallowed. "Was that the right call?"

"Probably not," Joker said. Then she looked down. There was a sheet of paper and a small skeleton key. She picked up the former, looking at it. "A map…"

A voice called out. **"You need to go back the way you came."** It said. **"The map will lead you to the Shrine under the library. That key will open the door to the Shrine, and the Shrine contains an elevator that will bypass my protections on the top floor."**

Skull groaned. "It's a trap. It's gotta be."

"Maybe," Joker said. "But it's more than we had a moment ago."

* * *

The map was true to its' giver's word. While the maze turned out to have absolutely no relationship to the rest of the Palace, the various exits were labeled. And the one for 'the Shrine' (apparently the emphasis was required) led to the correct place. Joker swallowed, and looked to Angel. "Need a time out?"

It was like something out of a horror film, the kind about an obsessive stalker. There were books everywhere, pulled from the library to be perused within the room. On the floor candles were laid out in a pattern Joker didn't immediately recognize. There was a single chair in one corner, but at the others were stocks. There were faint bloodstains in the holes for prisoners, making it clear the occupants, at least sometimes, struggled for their freedom. Strewn about the place were whips, riding crops, and other devices which Queen recoiled from. And, on every wall, were multiple pictures of Rei and Shiho, in between the banners of King Kamoshida.

Joker walked in and picked up a book. **Adler?** she queried the spirit in her head. **I'm curious. Do you know** _ **anything**_ **I don't?**

The spirit's reply was delayed, as though it were considering its' answer. **I was born from the desire in thy heart to take vengeance on the society that rejects thee,** she finally said. **But yes, like the other spirits of this castle, I was shaped from the Sea of Souls. I do not know all, but I know all things from that which inspired you to create me and don my mask would, which includes things thou dost not.**

Joker looked nonplussed. **The Marquis de Sade**?

 **A figure more prominent in Western culture. He is a proponent of finding gratification in the pain of others.**

Joker put the book back down, her eyes narrowing. "Something's wrong. No way Kamoshida reads Western writers like this."

Queen glanced at the title. "I'm surprised _you_ know about it."

"I could say the same," Joker shot back. "Anyway, which of _us_ is the biggest perv isn't the point. I don't think we're the only ones messing around in here." Everyone looked at her. "No, really. Kamoshida Suguru, the master strategist and engineer who can convert his whole home into a deathtrap in a day? Kamoshida, with a library that's for more than just show? Does that really fit this guy?"

Skull snorted. "No way. Now that ya mention it, he's more the army of minions, Dark Lord type."

"I hate to agree with Skull," Morgana said, "But that's not bad reasoning. It also kinda matches up better with how things were when I was captured. All this evil mastermind stuff is new."

"But who'd _do_ that?!" Angel asked. "Who in their right minds would make Kamoshida _worse?_ "

Joker sighed. "I don't know…"

Queen glanced around. "There's one obvious answer. If no one in their right mind would do it, then what about someone _not_ in their right mind?"

"...no." Joker said after some thought. "That assumes that there's someone who can get to the Metaverse _and_ is crazy. Unless you know something, Morgana?"

Morgana sighed. "All this craziness started with that Cognition of you, Joker. I've never seen anything like it."

Queen gave Morgana a hard look. "You're _sure_ it's a Cognition."

"Positive!" Morgana shouted. "I think I know _that_ much! It's just...she's not behaving anything like one anymore. And the changes to the Palace...this shouldn't be possible. People can't change this quickly unless there's something I'm not seeing."

"Think!" Joker shouted. "Morgana, we're counting on you!"

Morgana winced. "I'm sorry. I...it's definitely a Cognition…"

Joker sighed. "...could it be someone _else's_ Cognition, somehow?"

"I don't think so." Morgana said.

Queen shook her head. "We don't have enough information. How relevant is this?"

"Same problem. Until we know who else is here, and whether they're connected to that Cognition, we won't know." Joker said.

Skull hit his palm with a fist. "Then does it matter? We still gotta get that Treasure _today._ Time's wasting!"

Angel turned around. "I found the key, and this…" She held up a solid gold eye.

Joker's eyes went wide at the latter. "I could kiss you."

Angel made a face. "Please don't. No offense, but…" Then she stopped, and blushed visibly even with the mask covering most of her face. Joker giggled, then her attention turned to the one thing everyone had avoided paying attention to, the giant picture of Kamoshida in the center of the wall opposite the main entrance. "...Do you want me to?" Angel asked. Joker couldn't bring herself to look at the image directly. She nodded. Angel felt around the edges, and eventually the painting swung open, revealing another passage behind it. "Well...here's our elevator."

* * *

The elevator, with the key, had opened at the bottom of a tower with an extended staircase going up into the void. There were four marble pillars at seemingly random points, showing even less concern for the laws of physics than the rest of the castle. Morgana took one look at it and declared "We're getting close. Any reality that makes sense starts breaking down as you get deeper into the subconscious." Another look around revealed that the entrance had been outright collapsed. The usual details the castle sported, such as the busts of Kamoshida or other decorations, were completely absent.

Queen assessed the room. "As long as we keep an eye on the staircase and the upper floors, we're probably fine," she said. "There's nowhere to ambush us from, and so far the Shadows have mostly played lip service to the laws of physics. We should probably rest a few minutes for the final push."

Joker shivered suddenly. Angel glanced at her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Seriously, you okay for this?"

"I…" Joker reached into her pack and pulled out the thermos, taking another long pull. "I'll have time to be traumatized later," she said after wiping some liquid from her mouth. Everyone take five, grab some drinks and a snack if you want. Looks like we've got a hike ahead."

Queen and Angel gave each other a look from behind their masks. Morgana caught it with a tilt of the head. "What?

Queen sighed. "Trauma doesn't work like that. Joker, you know what will happen if you freeze again. We really do need to be sure." Joker looked ready to take another pull from her thermos. "Oh, honestly, what's in that thing? You're acting like an alcoholic with booze. I already said no booze."

Joker grinned. "Chief's coffee."

Queen was about to go on ahead as if she'd assumed that whatever it was it couldn't be _that_ good. Then her jaw snapped shut. Finally, she asked. "How many did you bring?"

Joker laughed and tossed her a second thermos. "Enough for everyone to have _one._ "

"No thanks." Skull said. "No offense, I prefer fizzy drinks." As if to punctuate his point, he pulled out a cola and downed it in one go. Joker just rolled her eyes and tossed him a small baggie. Skull eyed it, then pulled out the slightly squished tart.

Joker sighed. "It's still good."

Skull shrugged and ate it, gingerly reaching in to try to avoid getting the sticky fruit on his fingers. As soon as he bit down into it, his eyes widened. "Hey, this chick stuff's actually really good!"

"It should be." Joker got smug. "I was only gonna base my chance to fund this operation off my profits from it in an actual restaurant." She turned and dug deep into her pocket again. "Got enough for everyone, 'cept me." Joker was so focused on that that she failed to notice when the faint shadows cast by the room's pillars turned solid and flowed along the floor towards her. "Gotta lose some weight, apparently." The shadows coalesced into a shape behind her, growing into nothing so much as a large pile of Shadow-stuff. The color turned a sickly green color, like some kind of a demented pudding. Queen was about to call a warning when her attention was inevitably drawn to the shape it was taking, its' own substance continually turning from beneath and pouring out from the top in two impossibly symmetrical piles. Skull immediately recognized the shape and tried to not lose his lunch. A task that grew infinitely harder when it grew teeth. Angel shrieked. "...geez, I'm not _that_ fat yet, am I?" Joker meant it as a bit of a joke, but then she finally noticed the light shifting. She spun around, and immediately recognized what it was before it bit at her.

Minus the teeth, she had something very much like it, after all.

Joker flipped backwards out of the way. "I should have known. I _should have known,"_ she snarled, pulling out her weapons. "I should have known there would be something like _you_ lurking around here." Queen pulled out her own gun, but Joker shook her head. "No way. This one's _mine._ "

" **By all means,** " the slime said. The sheer incongruity of a slime actually talking caught Joker off guard. " **You're nice and ripe for the taking, after all.** "

Joker screamed, this time in fury. " **Come forth, my other self!** " she shouted, her eyes turning completely yellow as Adler burst from her back. In a storm of fury, lightning danced among a cloud of light and shadows, destructive energy swirling around the monster. Any other Shadow they had encountered thus far save Kamoshida's would probably have crumpled before it.

Which was why, when the monster seemed none the worse for wear as the magic dissipated, Joker could only stare as it slammed into her, engulfing her in a disgusting ooze that seemed to crawl around her, trying to find its' way into her catsuit. Joker tried everything she knew, but in the end she'd trained to fight things with skeletons. No matter how she wriggled around, there was no leverage. When she pushed against one part of the ooze, it would simply push elsewhere and she was left to float again. " **Oooh, a fighter. I like that. Makes it all the sweeter when you break in two.** " It started to squeeze down on Joker as she tried vainly to scramble out of the living fluid.

Angel stabbed the thing right next to Joker's neck, and it let go. Joker gasped in a breath she didn't know she was holding while Skull circled around to one side, unloading two shells into it. Joker finally slid out, coughing, while Johanna appeared and rammed into the side of the stuff before vanishing.

Joker half snarled, half giggled as Adler reappeared to start slicing at the beast with her heels. "Right, no magic...hehehe." The laughter was just slightly unhinged as Morgana summoned Zorro and the masked knight slashed repeatedly into the thing from another angle. The laughter choked off as it started to just flow back together again.

Then Captain Kidd was behind it with his enormous cannon. " **Pull yourself back together from** _ **this.**_ " Skull and his Persona declared simultaneously. Kidd fired. The ground floor was suddenly covered in pale green mucus.

Joker made a face. "Break over." She tried vainly to pick some slime out of her hair. "This is gonna be Hell to explain to the Chief."

* * *

The climb was just as long as Joker feared, and it seemed to be infinite. "Morgana?"

The cat looked up at her. "Yes, Joker?"

Joker took a deep breath. "If I turn around and look down, will it turn out we're on the ground floor?"

"...it's...a possibility," Morgana admitted.

Joker took another deep breath. " _If_ that happens, what would be going on, and would we lose any progress?"

Morgana frowned. "That would be a cognitive trap. Something the subconscious mind of the Palace does to keep people from getting to the Treasure. Either there's a Shadow or Cognition keeping it in place, or some kind of mental state that keeps people who aren't thinking right out."

Skull uttered a word that made everyone blush. "How're we supposed to get past _that?_ "

Joker reached into her pouch. "...maybe it's got something to do with this." She pulled out the golden eyeball. "Why would the Cognition give this to me?"

"Joker," Queen said. "It might be a trap."

Joker nodded. "But we're not getting anywhere unless we can figure this out, and from where I'm sitting it's our only clue." She examined it. "An eye sees…" she twisted it around, until she noticed a small peephole. She started to lift it to her eye. "...Queen, if I start acting weird…"

Angel opened her eyes wide. "No way. Pass it over." Joker glared at her. "Joker, you're the leader, and…" She swallowed. "Rei, I can't let you take all the risks. Kamoshida...if I'd been stronger...if Shuujin's students had been stronger, you'd never have gone through that. So, please, it's my turn to do what I should have."

Joker frowned. "Eyes are the windows to the soul," she pointed out. "If this _is_ a trap it could seriously eff you up."

"I'm screwed anyway," Angel said. "Toss it here." Joker hesitated another moment, then threw it to her. Angel looked through it. The stairway warped, and but it still seemed infinite...until she noticed a cord hanging down the middle. She followed it down, until she saw "...hey, there's a lift right next to us!"

"You sure?" Joker asked.

Angel grinned. "Right there. Two foot jump." Joker was about to say something about it still possibly being a trap, when Skull whooped and ran the three steps to make the leap. And he landed in midair. Angel grinned. "Okay, let's go."

* * *

Ann glanced left and right. The alley led to the small paid parking lot, with Kamoshida's car less than a block from the school. There was the unattended pay station, the barriers that would puncture the tires if you tried to drive off without paying, and no one around. Then she looked up.

Security cameras. Of course. _Crap._ She looked again. Still no one around. She pulled her hair out of its' customary pigtails. _Still blonde and wearing the Shuujin uniform. No good..._ She would _pay_ for this later. She pulled a pair of scissors out of her bag, and quickly turned her school jersey into a cutoff. Then, with a horrible blush, she glanced around again to make absolutely sure no one was coming before she pulled her skirt off completely, then tied the blazer around her waist after turning it inside out. _There, now I look like a fetish schoolgirl instead of a real one. Just gotta hope no one catches me._

From there it was remarkably simple. Saunter up to the car, open the door like she belonged there, then drop the card on the seat, close it, and walk away. The second she was out of view of the cameras, she had her skirt and blazer back on, the later buttoned up to hide the damage to her shirt.

It was a few seconds later when she realized that Kamoshida would be coming out soon. If he saw the condition of her clothes. _Crap crap_ looked around, but the only thing that got her attention was her phone buzzing. She opened up the home screen to try to silence it, but all she saw was an app she didn't recognize. She opened it and found it was a nav app. With voice control. And then she heard whistling from around the corner. "Oh, I hope this works...Kamoshida, Shujin, Castle."

And the world changed.

* * *

Stepping off the elevator, Joker immediately spotted the huge door. It was carved wood, and at least three stories tall. The only thing that gave away that they were still in the Palace were the two painted statues of girls in gym bloomers, without heads or anything below the thighs. "Okay, that'll be it."

Skull shrugged and walked up to the giant doors, only to discover they were locked. He shrugged. "Can't say I didn't see that coming." Everyone looked to the statues, which were not designed to prevent climbing.

Spending a great deal of effort on _not_ thinking about what their hands were touching, everyone quickly made their way to the top of one of the statues, and through a convenient window into a throne room. When they did, they immediately heard Kamoshida's voice. "The wench _escaped._ Those Thieves are probably on their way here even now! What are you going to do about it?!"

Joker slipped back against the wall, out of view of the lower area, and hissed. "Wonderful. What are we going to do?"

"We'll need a distraction," Queen answered.

Joker shook her head. "How?! The only thing left we haven't hit is the main treasure vault, and there's nowhere else to look."

Angel glanced down. "We don't actually have to go through the throne room. As long as he stays down there, why don't we just grab the Treasure when it appears and sneak out the way we came?"

"...it seems awfully simple," Morgana said uncertainly.

Queen and Joker shrugged at each other. "Well, the simple plans are usually best…" Queen finally said. "I know the metaphor requires a daring plan, but we've been winging it this whole time because of the urgency of our schedule. If we had a few more days…"

Joker signaled them to move on. No one below noticed as they crept quietly along the balcony, and into the room beyond. "Bless me bagpipes!" Joker slipped briefly into English with something that was probably supposed to be a Scottish accent. Everyone gave her a weird look. "Sorry, just kinda slipped….I mean, look at it!" The room wasn't far removed from a cartoon bank vault, except that it wasn't as obviously deep. A massive pile of gold. "...okay." Joker said quietly. "We won't have much time when the Treasure appears. Don't touch any of it until that shows up and we're ready to move, just in case, then everyone grab a handful of gold while I deal with the main target. We'll discuss the split later."

* * *

Kamoshida felt his annoyance growing as he walked toward his car. No Amamiya, no Ann, no Shiho….he considered offering that Ito girl a ride home, but it was too late to call her into the office. Same with Mishima for some therapeutic 'extra training', but he'd thought he'd need his strength. Especially with Amamiya. Damn that one was strong, and she'd probably be a beast once she finally gave in. If she did - signs weren't looking good. And punching _that_ one out wasn't a good idea. There's fierce, and there's 'snuck a martial arts weapon into school and knows how to use it.' He'd caught her by surprise today, but that wouldn't happen again.

Except that his car door was slightly ajar. He glanced left and right, and saw no one. He walked around the car as well, but the only thing was an envelope on the seat. He opened it and read.

 _Kamoshida Suguru of Shujin Academy,_

 _For too long the students under your protection have instead been prey for your twisted lusts. The Phantom Thieves of Hearts have seen what you have done, and what you were going to do to those who couldn't fight back. We will take those twisted desires and force you to confess your sins._

 _The Phantom Thieves of Hearts_

He crumpled it up and was about to throw it over his shoulder when he immediately felt dizzy.

* * *

Waiting was by far the worst part. At first, the Phantom Thieves resolved themselves to simply crouch in concealment, but hours seemed to stretch on into infinity. It was Queen who first realized the problem. "The longer we do nothing, the slower time seems to get...which means we're _actually waiting longer._ "

"Go to sleep, and wait for the good news?" Angel asked.

Joker nodded. "Except we can't." She sighed. "Phones don't work while the Navigator's running, either, so we can't take turns with distracting ourselves _that_ way."

Skull shrugged. "More snacks? I know time always passes when I'm eating."

Joker shook her head. "Don't know if we'll have enough supplies to get out. We'd better save them."

However, at that moment the distraction of the conversation proved to be all that was necessary, because Morgana froze. Golden fog started swirling about the room, rising from the floor and coalescing above the mountains of gold. Joker watched, but even as she did so she fell to one knee to scoop up her pouch of gold.

It was a good thing she did, because Morgana suddenly started making a noise as if a special Hell full of cats who hunger for human flesh. His eyes were glazed over, and as the shape of the Treasure began to appear his eyes gained a yellowish tinge. "T-t-t-t-treasure…" he purred, the only warning they had before their guide to this new world completely lost his mind, jumping into the Treasure just as it became a giant crown, purring and rubbing his head wildly against the surface.

"He's gone _nuts_!" Angel exclaimed.

"Get it together, Morgana!" Queen shouted. Morgana turned his head to hiss at her.

Joker sighed. "Not a cat, huh?"

That seemed to get through. Morgana slowly shook his head, as if coming out of a trance. "Uhm…" He jumped down, coughing. "I'm sorry for that shameful display. I do not know _what_ came over me, ladies."

Then another interruption as Kamoshida roared behind them. The castle seemed to shake. Joker's eyes widened as she watched the Crown. "It's too big to carry ourselves…" The looked to the boys. "Skull, Morgana. Zorro and Kidd are the Personas best suited to move that thing."

Queen glanced at the door meaningfully. "Kamoshida won't miss _that_ being moved."

Joker snorted. "Looks like it's up to the girls to distract him."

* * *

Ann knew the _smart_ thing to do would be to wait outside the giant castle for whatever was about to happen to happen. She held out against the urge to do the dumb thing through the anguished male cries coming from the ventilation into the dungeons. When the earth beneath her rocked slightly, she still held her ground.

Then she heard Shiho, Rei, and even Niijima alternately screaming and moaning from the top windows. She immediately ran for the front entrance, and ran into Rei in a completely different outfit - some kind of anime cosplay of a ninja from the wrong sort of anime. They stared at each other for far too long.

Rei blinked first. **"Dammit,"** she said, her voice distorted weirdly. **"My other self can't keep anyone out of this, can she?"**

Ann blinked. "Uh...what? I put the calling card down, just like you said."

" **I know,"** Rei replied. **"The whole place is on alert.** _ **You shouldn't be here!**_ **"**

Ann snapped back. "Well, I had to come up with a disguise in two seconds! I was hoping to borrow your skirt or pants or something."

Rei shook her head. **"They'd be too tight on you. She'll go get something after we're done here.** _ **You**_ **wait outside."** Then Ann's expression changed and she sighed. **"No, really, didn't that fake me explain this to you? You need a Persona as a regular person to do anything but get captured and worse."**

Ann groaned. "But they need my help!"

Rei frowned for a second, then leaned in real close to peer at her. **"Oh, this isn't going to be fun, but she'd kill me if she found out I could do this later and I didn't…"** Ann looked like she was about to explode for a moment. **"Okay, Takamaki-san, listen to me closely. I'll help you out, but you have a Shadow inside of you too. The second it wants to come out, I'm gone. Understand?"** Ann shook her head. **"You will."** Rei promised, and Ann saw her eyes suddenly turn gold. **"You're a model, right? Think of those moments when you're working, when you're showing more than your body, your truest self."** Ann frowned, but closed her eyes and tried to imagine it. **"That freedom, to be true to you, needs to be what you want more than anything. Stay focused on it, and when you've got it repeat after me. 'I am thou.'"**

Ann nodded. She pretended she was on a runway, with the camera in front of her. _I'm here, to show you who I am._ She even went so far as to wink at the imaginary photographer. _Okay, I think I've got it._ "I am thou... **Thou art I."** Suddenly, Ann's head felt like a significantly more uncomfortable place, like she was stuffed entirely too full. When she looked down, she realized she was wearing the same outfit Rei had been, with the skirt way too short...and Rei was nowhere to be found. "What the heck?! What happened?"

 **There's no time to explain** the voice of Rei resounded in her head. **This is** _ **so**_ **wrong on so many levels, and I have** _ **no idea**_ **how long I can keep this up. I don't really belong here. So, you need to concentrate on not being seen and head up to the tower. I'll guide you, but you have to hurry.**

* * *

Kamoshida's Shadow was standing in the middle of his throne room, ranting and raving at the knights, sending them throughout the castle to try to intercept the infiltration that, little did he know, was right behind him. Joker, Queen, and Angel leaped easily to the chandelier and swing to the opposite balcony. When Kamoshida failed to notice that, they shrugged and waited for him to turn his back.

The last of the knights tramped out of the throne room, leaving Kamoshida alone. Joker grinned, and made a dramatic leap down to the floor, her coat flying out behind her. Then she stopped, and needlessly drew herself up into an erect pose, her hand outstretched and pointing to the King. "We shall steal the Treasure!" she cried, with all the drama she could muster. Queen and Angel gave each other a look that could not have conveyed ' _This_ is our leader?' more firmly if they'd been waving banners, but they jumped down after her and copied the pose.

 **"Oh will you now?"** Kamoshida's Shadow looked amused, even flicking his cloak aside like he was about to draw a gun or a sword, only to reveal a volleyball. Joker drew her knife in reply. **"This would have been so much easier if you'd just given in, you know."**

Joker's jaw dropped open, and then she laughed. "You had my record, do you have _any idea_ who the _hell_ I am?" She stepped forward. "My name is Amamiya _Rei_. Formerly first _dan_ of the IKO, which I _never even liked._ " It was Queen's turn to stare dumbfounded. "My whole _life_ I've been fighting! Every second! Just because I was born with this stupid body. Don't you think it would have been 'easier' to give in and accept that I was a boy because someone looked at one body part when I was born and made a note in the registry?" The Shadow took a few steps back. "Even my own Dad, who understood, wouldn't let me be who I am without a fight. _Sensei_ , you're just one more." She laughed again. "Easy? I never do anything the easy way. It just gets you into trouble."

 **"Stupid girl,"** Kamoshida said. **"Been writing that speech long?"**

Joker shrugged. "Yes, actually. Felt good to get it off my chest." She pulled her pistol out, carefully keeping her eyes off of the terrace above where Skull and Morgana had just appeared, their Personas slowly inching the giant crown along the path. _Should have used three people._ "Anyway, we're here to steal the Treasure. If we have to go through you, fine. Your days of sexual harassment and bullying are done, one way or the other."

Kamoshida didn't seem to comprehend her for several seconds. **"Bullying? Sexual harassment? Is that what you think is going on here? Look, girl, you don't know what it takes to be the best!"**

Queen stepped forward. "The Hell we don't. I get beat up every day when I practice, and Rei had it just as hard! And Sensei treats me with respect every day."

 **"Pfeh,"** Kamoshida's Shadow was dismissive. **"Sure. A hobbyist and a big fish in a small pond. I'm talking the** _ **world's**_ **best here! The students who have the drive to go** _ **all the way.**_ **That's who I'm talkin' about."**

Joker snarled. "And what about the girls who didn't like your 'price', huh? What about Ann and Shiho?"

Kamoshida reached up and snapped his fingers. **"What about them?"** The Ann cognition Joker already knew about, but she gasped when a new Cognition, this one wearing Shiho's face and a dark blue bikini, strutted her way to Kamoshida's side. He continued while the two girls posed. **"They knew what they were getting into. They wanted it."**

"I _never_ wanted that, you creep!" Angel shouted back, tearing off her mask. "I never wanted that for me, and I _really_ never wanted it for Ann! We just couldn't tell you no because everyone 'needed' it kept secret! Well we're done!"

Kamoshida smirked. **"Yes,** _ **everyone**_ **. Parents, teachers, even you. We all get what we want, Suzui. I'm protected, and we all profit. Even. You."** Shiho gasped. **"You could have had victory, glory. You were good enough to make the Olympic team one day, and you threw it away because you couldn't stand the thought of the tranny there getting in on it."**

"That's NOT TRUE!" Angel's mask slipped back over her eyes of its' own accord and she charged with her spear. Unfortunately for Angel, the Shiho cognition interposed itself in a flying jump more reminiscent of diving for a volleyball than anything belonging in serious combat, but Angel found herself instinctively flinching away from stabbing a girl.

Shiho giggled and looked up at her real-world counterpart. "See? You don't have what it takes to serve His Majesty." She stood up. "My Lord, I'll take care of her."

Kamoshida shook his head. **"No. I appreciate the offer, but I'll conquer these three delectable beauties myself."** Then, suddenly, when Skull and Morgana were only halfway across the terrace, he spun and served his volleyball so hard that it exploded into light. It collided with the Treasure between the two Personas and knocked it against the wall so hard it bounced back, into the air, and shimmered as it flew, turning into a normal sized crown as it landed in his hand. **"Now, now, did you really think I wouldn't notice you stealing this? It's the proof of my power! My right to rule this castle. It's the core of this world, and you'll** _ **never**_ **take it from me!"** And then the crown was on his head.

Kamoshida twisted and deformed, laughing. His speedo ripped through as he started to grow. Something twisted began clawing under his skin, then two arms started to reach through his skin, slowly deforming into shape like balloons blowing up while his skin went from pale to a bright pink color. His eyes bulged, twisting this way and that like a gecko's, looking all around while his mouth continued to leer at the girls. From out of nowhere, he pulled golden cutlery in two of his hands, while he plucked up a wineglass containing the Ann and Shiho cognitions from somewhere nearby, sized for his now massive frame. Deformed dwarfs, their bodies nude but genderless, wearing iron masks over their faces, carried a giant trophy from the corner and mercifully placed it in front of Kamoshida's crotch, close enough to block everything from view.

" **What was it you said to me when we first met? Oh, yeah!"** Kamoshida's eyes momentarily focused directly on Joker. **"Bring it!"**


	9. Chapter 9

Joker looked around. While the boys on the terrace were facing them, they could aim downwards and keep her own team out of the firing arc. She switched stances, falling back to absorb the recoil from her pistol instinctively. "OPEN FIRE!" It took a moment for the others to pull out their firearms and start shooting, but it seemed to be effective. Angel wasn't been able to follow along - her own weapon, a spear, was simply too big for her to handle a sidearm. Thus, she summoned up Norea and shouted **"Begone!"** Kamoshida recoiled further while light shone down from somewhere above.

By the time Joker's magazine was empty and Queen was dumping out her cylinder, the giant Kamoshida monster was bleeding all over. Joker smirked, reaching into her belt pouch for her final magazine. She almost missed it as her giant opponent stuck his fork into the cup and pulled out a girl's legs, still flailing about, and ate it. "Ugh. Just when I thought you couldn't get any more disgusting…" But then her revulsion turned to abject horror as the bullet wounds closed. Her jaw dropped open, and she was so surprised when the creature's tongue lashed out at her that she was only barely able to roll with the blow, landing against the wall behind her covered in slime. Queen tried to strike at the appendage on its' way back into Kamoshida's mouth in retribution, but missed.

Morgana had better luck, taking his slingshot and launching several pellets at the giant crown. "Give me that Treasure!" he shouted.

Kamoshida just laughed. **"You want something valuable, cat?"**

"I'M NOT A CAT!" Morgana yowled. Kamoshida took advantage of the momentary distraction to stab at him with his gilded knife, forcing him to dodge away from Skull. The follow-up consisted of the chained slaves pelting Skull with a number of high spikes.

Skull roared in pain. **"Whip'im, Persona!"** Captain Kidd responded, sailing through the air past Kamoshida's head and ringing his bell, seemingly literally, with an anchor swung around like a giant flail. "Aww yeah!"

" **Dammit…"** Kamoshida groaned. Queen and Joker tried to follow up the distraction, but were thwarted by Kamoshida's other two arms pushing them back.

Joker backflipped on her own out of the way of the clumsy strike with a curse - literally. " **Adler, take him!"** The demonic Persona appeared right behind the equally demonic gym teacher, whispering blasphemous words in his ear. He waved his knife at the beast, but it was seemingly too late...until he swallowed the contents of his wine glass, then ate another pair of legs from the goblet hiding his crotch. "Dammit!"

"Joker!" Queen called out as Kamoshida spat the two Cognition girls back out into his wine goblet. "We can't let him keep doing that!"

Queen couldn't quite tell what Joker's expression was behind her mask, but the meaning was all too plain a moment later when she said "If anyone has any ideas!"

" **ZORRO!"** Morgana called on his Persona, trying to conjure up gale force winds. Kamoshida hunched over the goblet protectively in reply, Angel stabbed at his arms while Morgana and Zorro increased the intensity, but Kamoshida just tightened down. Angel was about to try again when the tiny slaves started pelting her with volleyballs. Joker pulled out her knife again, moving up behind the creatures until she was almost on top of them, but Kamoshida's tongue slurped through Angel. The force was enough to knock Angel across the room, into Joker, and send them both slamming up against the pillar, completely stunned. Johanna appeared, and both of the girls almost knocked silly were surrounded in the blue light of Cherenkov radiation. The slaves backed away from the two in fear.

However, Morgana couldn't keep it up. As the wind died, Kamoshida pulled himself back up to his normal height. **"That all you got, you little sneak thieves?!"** He shouted while Ann and Shiho's voices began shouting "Go-Go-Ka-Mo-Shi-Da!" Then, while the Phantom Thieves readied for another assault, he lifted the goblet containing his 'meal" in one awkward hand holding the golden knife while the other pulled out another pair of girl's legs and, the legs kicking the whole way, devoured it.

* * *

Kamoshida had managed to stumble into his car despite the incredible pain in his head. He pulled out some light pain killers and tried to dry-swallow them, but choked. He reached for his phone next, but it kept slipping out of his hand.

The next few minutes passed like that, until suddenly he heard a knocking at his car window. Opening his eyes, his current boss seemed to swim in front of him, the sound of muffled yelling reminding him that he was inside the car. He opened the door. "Are you alright, Kamoshida-sensei."

Kamoshida groaned. It was worse than the hangover from the party after the Olympics…"I'll...I'll be all right. Stupid Amamiya pulled some kinda prank…"

"I'll have him in jail by morning." Kabayokawa said. "Whatever he did…"

"NO!" Kamoshida roared suddenly, causing the other man to take a step away from him in shock. "No...that's too good for her, for allofem." He winced at the sound of his own voice. "Sakamoto, Takamaki, Suzui, and. . . and Niijima. All five of'em."

"But...but…" Kabayokawa moaned.

Kamoshida grinned, or at least he pulled his lips back from his teeth in a rictus. "Give me an emergency assembly in the morning. I'll take care of it."

"But..Kamoshida-sensei, that isn't…" Kabayokawa was about to protest that that wasn't the proper procedure...but really, it wouldn't be _that_ bad.

* * *

Kamoshida's laugh was quickly becoming the most annoying sound Joker had ever heard. Rei frowned, and mentally counted their ammo. _We're running low...crap, we need a distraction._ She glanced around, then up at Morganna. _He's still got enough, but if this doesn't work..._ Another glance, this time to Queen, and she marked the hand Queen gave her a quizzical look in return, but nodded. _Please, Morgana, take advantage of this…_ she thought.

Queen nodded her acknowledgment, then began to circle around left. The riding crop was on the opposite side of her immediate target, or rather what she hoped Morgana would see and go for. Queen saw the gesture, then indicated the target with another slight gesture of her head. Joker nodded.

 **"No use playing smart. Ya can't win, kids."** Kamoshida's shout was punctuated by another hail of volleyballs from the 'slaves' at his feet, which seemed to appear only when needed or they would be in much worse trouble.

Queen considered. Currently, Kamoshida's attention was on them, but that could change any second. To get to the arm without getting hit….she realized there _was_ no way to do it without getting hit. She gave Joker a panicked look. In return, Joker looked pained but nodded. Angel saw the interchange and shook her own head. Then, suddenly, Angel was charging forward. Queen shouted her dismay, even while Norea appeared, her arms around Angel in a protective gesture while the Thief leaped up onto Kamoshida's arm. When she got there, she dropped her spear and just wrapped legs and arms around the offending limb. Kamoshida began shaking her. **"Hey, what are you doing?!"**

Joker cursed, and ran out herself. "ANGEL! CATCH!" Joker's dagger flew through the air, handle first. Angel, somehow, caught the knife and reared back. The knife stabbed home, and Kamoshida screamed, raising his wineglass almost up to the level of the balcony.

A sound rang out through the hall. Not only Morgana, but also Skull began putting everything they had into the wine glass. It sounded like a bell being struck by a machine gun. The glass wobbled, warped, and then shattered, dumping the two Cognitions inside to the floor. **"NO!"** Kamoshida snarled, swiping at the veranda with the remains of the wine glass and his knife.

Joker rolled forward, taking up Angel's spear and twirling it around. Kamoshida tried to swat her aside, but Angel stabbed his arm again. Joker finally took advantage of the distraction, leaping right over the goblet sitting on the floor, bouncing off Kamoshida's chest, and using the butt end of the spear to knock the goblet down. She rolled as she landed. Angel came back down to earth as well, and Queen ran back out of the way as well.

Then the two Cognitions stood up. Morgana shouted "Something's not right!" Ann had a pair of Pom-Poms, and Shiho had a volleyball and a wicked smile.

Joker sighed. "If I have any more bright ideas, feel free to smack me."

* * *

Ann swallowed as another pair of guards went by, crouched at the base of one of the lewd statues.. She whispered "Okay, seriously, how come they don't see us?"

 **Common cognition,** 'Rei' answered. **You look like a ninja, so as long as you make some kind of token effort to hide we're basically invisible. One of those stupid camo T-shirts with 'You Can't See Me' on it would probably work the same way on some of the weaker ones.** There was a long pause. **You didn't understand that at all, did you? Just look around, will you? I need to see where we are.** Ann did so. **Okay, we're almost there. I just hope we're not too late.**

"Too late for what?" Ann murmured, creeping onto a nearby elevator.

There was a snort. **You should know, given the fake Ann running around. He got tired of waiting in the real world and took it out on me. Well, the other me, I can't go into the real world.**

"He's _that_ out of control?" Ann asked as she began to rise far beyond the roof of the castle.

 **You bet,** Rei replied. **If I hadn't come along, it would probably have been Shiho-chan.** That...had been a mistake. Ann felt an axe split her skull, from the inside. She grabbed at her temples, falling all the way to her knees. Golden eyes opened briefly. **Crap, crap, crap. Not yet. Ann, listen to me. Put Shiho-chan out of your mind. I know it's difficult, but you could kill me, Rei, and yourself, and what use would you be to her then?**

 **Don't listen to this intruder,** another voice said, almost seductive. **She worked with the enemy.**

'Rei's' voice countered **Do you know your way around? No? Then go all primeval once we get there!**

"Nnnnnngh!" Ann curled up on herself, trying to resist the urge to slam her head against the floor.

'Rei' was starting to get desperate. **Look, I know I don't belong here. I'm not** _ **your**_ **Shadow. But if we split now, I won't have the strength to keep you hidden or either of us safe. Bottle it up a little longer…** Her mental voice lowered conspiratorially, as if speaking directly to the third voice. **It'll be all the more explosive when you finally take out the cork.**

After an eternity Ann finally felt the pain of a continual explosion pushing out from her brain recede, all too slowly. Her blue eyes opened again, and she managed to look around. "What...what the…"

 **You're fine for now,** Rei said. **We need to hurry. Can you walk?**

"I...I think so."

* * *

Angel was finding the two Cognitions _extremely_ distracting for some reason. Their cheers for Kamoshida seemed to contrast with their barely-clad bodies in a way that was like one of those anime that aired well after the watershed. Not that she would admit to ever watching those, except maybe to try to fall back asleep late at night.

There was also the problem of her weapon. While Joker seemed to have no issues with the spear, she had never learned how to fight and Norea hadn't imparted any knife techniques to her the same way she had learned the basics of the spear from her Persona. So, while Joker kept the demonic Kamoshida off their backs and Queen made sure to stay inside the range of Shiho's own counterpart to prevent her from circling them and attacking with the ball, Angel found herself face-to-face with Ann.

This job was more important than it looked. Every time Angel let up, 'Ann' began cheering and the wounds on all of their opponents would slowly close. It seemed that Joker's clever plan had just replaced one problem with a far more serious one.

So Angel continued slashing wildly at the copy of her childhood friend, hoping against hope for a lucky hit. Soon enough, she spotted the opening, and started to lash out, but then 'Ann' _winked_ at her. "So, you're like, totally hoping to get His Majesty too, huh?"

Angel growled. "I've got _no_ interest in spreading my legs for that gross, disgusting - "

"Ohhhh." Ann said again. "I get it, you're one of _those._ Well, I may be a slut, but, like, a lezzie? No _way._ "

Joker shouted. "It's not _real_ Angel!" She parried two attempts by Kamoshida to get through her defenses with the oversized fork. "Don't bother talking!"

Ann smirked when Angel missed her again. "Can't do it, can ya? Not a piece of ass _this_ hot." The cognition gestured to herself. "Wanna make out with me? Well, too bad, I already have a boyfriend, and I don't need to make him all hot and bothered for me…"

Angel ripped off her mask. **"Norea, smite her."** The cognition's eyes widened as the angel-like Persona suddenly loomed over her, Angel herself sniffing dismissively. A light shone down from nowhere, slamming the cognition into the ground. When the light stopped, it was smoking lightly, almost comically. Shiho sniffed. "You. Are not. Ann."

* * *

Ann felt another throb in her skull as she leaned up against the last pillar. She knew it was the last pillar because she felt the remains of her Shujin uniform fall back into place around her while 'Rei' appeared next to her. **"This is my stop."**

"Huh?"

Rei sighed. **"Takamaki, you're on the edge of a brain aneurysm as it is. I** _ **told**_ **you that what we just did isn't natural. My other self is on the other side of this door. You want to help her, you're on your own from here."**

"What do you keep talking about, your 'other self'?" Ann asked, feeling her headache start to recede. Rei reached into her pouch and pulled out a bottled juice, which Ann took and gratefully gulped down. "Thanks."

 **"No problem."** Rei said. **"Okay, this is almost exactly wrong but it's probably the only way you're going to get any understanding. You realize you're in the Metaverse, a world that reflects the entirety of the human mental condition, right?"** When Ann made a soft noise that Rei took to mean agreement, she continued. **"Well, this is Kamoshida's Palace, where his True Self grew powerful enough to warp the entire school into his personal playground. But this isn't the whole of the Metaverse. You can think of it as a layer cake, maybe? Or. . . well, maybe more like a train station, that goes down infinitely. There's a mirror of Tokyo outside the castle, for the most part, with some other people's Palaces breaking things up. That's because all but the most twisted people agree on what 'Tokyo' is."**

"Well...okay. I'm not sure I get it, but close enough." Ann agreed. "But what does that have to do with there being two of you."

 **"There's two of everyone,"** Rei said. **"Me, you, Ryuji, Shiho-san, Mako-chan. It's just that most of us aren't so disconnected that we make Palaces. At least, there should be. Tokyo's been weirdly deserted ever since I got here. Of course, that was about the time - never mind, no time for that now. The point is, this is** _ **who I am**_ **, regardless of what the physical world wants, yes?"**

Ann scrunched her nose. "So...you're…."

Rei sighed. **"Should have figured a human wouldn't get it. Or maybe I'm just no good at explaining. Anyway, the point is, if you want to help you're going to have to find that voice that nearly killed us again on your own."** Rei smirked. **"I would suggest listening at the door. I'm okay, so I'll watch the stairs just to be sure no one surprises you….but Kamoshida's busy."**

* * *

Queen realized her mistake as soon as she'd made it, but it was too late. The flash of light from Norea had pulled her attention away from the other Shiho for a critical moment, and turned to see the blue-clad Cogntion leaping up to spike the first volleyball into her face. Except it didn't stop with the first. Every time she tried to slip around, Kamoshida noticed and shot a tongue out over Joker's shoulder. "Joker! OW!" That latter followed from another blow, which came from several more that followed from Shiho, far too quickly to be natural. "A little help here!"

Unfortunately, Joker found herself occupied trying to fight a four-limbed giant. Sure, she was holding her own despite the distraction of having to do this while said giant was revoltingly naked, but it was taking all of her attention. Each parry with Angel's spear took a small toll on the weapon as well, and Joker took one step back, and then another. Realizing there was no help coming from that quarter, Queen looked to Angel.

The situation there was no better. Angel was still standing, but it was obviously only through sheer willpower. The Ann cognition had to be _really_ stupid to think Angel had another blast like the first in her. The boys weren't in much better shape - from their spot on the balcony, they hadn't been able to conserve ammunition or the reserve to call on their Personas any further. And Joker had all the supplies that might have remedied the situation - poor planning on their part.

Finally, one last volleyball forced Queen to her knees. She cried out. Joker looked over, and Kamoshida's tongue lashed out and flung the team leader into Queen, sending them both tumbling. Unable to stay standing any longer, Angel finally fell to one knee herself, knife still held at Ann's throat.

 **"Heh heh heh…"** Kamoshida's ominous chuckle echoed through the hall. **"See? You never had a chance. Give up now, and** _ **maybe**_ **you'll still have a place in my world."**

Joker slowly lifted up her mask and tried to spit in Kamoshida's eye.

 **"Have it your way….but first...I think I'm in the mood for the real article…"** Kamoshida's eyes went to Angel. **"Come here, Suzui."** Angel didn't move. **"I said, COME HERE!"**

* * *

Ann heard Rei's screaming, followed by one that chilled her. _Shiho!_

But when she tried to open the door, Rei was already there and caught her wrist. **"I** _ **know**_ **you're not this stupid. My other self wouldn't put up with this much of an idiot."**

"But Shiho - "

 **"Won't be helped by a normal human charging in and getting turned into the bimbo you seem to be determined to act like. I told you before,** _ **find that voice in your heart.**_ **That's your Shadow. Then convince it to help.** " Another scream, higher-pitched and outraged as well as terrified. **"That shouldn't be hard."**

Ann squeezed her eyes shut, trying to drown out the screams for a moment. _No, that's the wrong approach. The third voice talked to me when I thought about her. Why not now?_

 **I thought you were too good for my help.** The other voice said.

Ann smiled. _There you are. And that was just about the guide. We'll take care of her after the bastard in the next room._

 **Are you sure?** **Aren't you just restraining yourself?**

Ann felt the pain return, but grinned ferally. Her eyes glowed. **Just until the right moment.**

 **In that case...I will lend you my power.**

"One…" Ann struggled to her feet. "One more second, I want him to see this." She kicked open the door, her foot slamming onto the ground. There, she saw the giant Kamoshida holding Shiho, wearing the same costume as outside, by one leg while he leered at her and drooled. **"STOP!"** She screamed, her voice suddenly distorted. **"You BASTARD! I can't believe I let this go on so long!"**

" **Well, well, all of the jewels of my crown in one place."** Kamoshida growled out in what he probably thought was a seductive way, although the situation and distortion just made it a mixture of terrifying and pathetic. **"You'll have to wait your turn though."**

Ann started to convulse, but her voice was clear. **"I'm finished with waiting for someone else to take care of you. CARMEN!"** Flame surrounded her. Her outfit dissolved, forming a skin-tight red catsuit that, even moreso than Joker and Queen, left absolutely nothing to the imagination. The tail trailing behind her twitched as if it were alive, and a whip appeared in her hand. Behind her, a Flamenco dancer, with two men with what looked like large chocolate or jewelry boxes for heads, were led around by collars. **"I AM THOU! THOU ART I!"** the pair said together. **"We will end this in FIRE!"**

The flames filled the hall. But what really surprised Joker was that the warmth filled, rather than consumed, her. She stood up easily now. Queen, Skull, and Morgana were similarly pulling themselves up. Angel was behind them, having fallen to the floor when Kamoshida dropped her.

Kamoshida hadn't fared nearly so well. He had taken several….well, scoots back and was looking at Ann in alarm. **"How...how many kids like you are there?"**

Ann smiled. **"It doesn't matter. It only takes one more, and I'm it."**

Joker grinned, sure they had him. Then Kamoshida snapped his fingers. She tossed the spear in her hands back to Angel.

Queen saw it too, a giant volleyball being brought out by slaves. "Get ready, he's going to counter-attack!"

 **"Yeah. I was hoping to save this for the guys up there, but I guess I'll have to show you my kill shot."** His smile turned from lustful to simply bloodthirsty. **"As in, I'll make the kill."**

The slaves tossed the ball into the air. The girls all covered their faces with their arms, not incidentally to prevent from having to look up while the four-armed monstrosity jumped and exposed its' crotch. However, someone _was_ paying more attention. On the balcony, Morgana carefully timed his shot. **"ZORRO!"** The Persona appeared and filled the hall with a howling gale. It was aimed, not at Kamoshida, but at his projectile. With the ball tossed casually off-course, Kamoshida missed and stumbled to the ground.

The girls took advantage and rushed in. Blows and magic rained down on Kamoshida from all sides. Light blinding him, fire burning his long forked tongue. Joker recovered her knife and threw it, hard, into Kamoshida's spiking hand before Adler sliced the other open with a kick. From there, they just whaled on him, Joker even resorting to her bare hands and feet until she managed a jump into range of her knife, which she ripped out of the giant hand with no sense of gentleness.

But it was while Kamoshida was recovering from the brutal assault that Skull leaped across the hall, knocking the crown off his head. It shone as it flew, shrunk down to normal size, and fell right into Ann's hands. "Aww yeah! You guys were _awesome_!" He shouted at them from the floor.

" **Nooo...noooooo….my...my precious…."** Kamoshida babbled, his form already starting to shrink. Joker reached for her gun and realized that Ann's fire had even refilled the bullets. She drew a bead on Kamoshida's head. **"No...no...it's all right,"** he said, sounding utterly defeated. **"That's what you wanted, isn't it?"**

"What I…" Rei ripped off her mask. "What I _wanted?_ What is _wrong with you?_ " Everyone except Kamoshida took a step back. "How can someone purporting to be a human being be _this_ blind?" She pulled out her pistol and leveled it at the former King of the Palace.

" **Just...go ahead and do it. I go down, and so does my real self."** Kamoshida said. **"You're finished when you lose, right? That's your right. Hell, isn't it even part of that stupid 'budo' code you Karate types preach about?"**

Rei cocked the hammer. "Normally? Not at all. I told you, I've been fighting all my life. When you lose, you get ready for the next battle. Sometimes, you have to take the consequences first. But as long as you keep living, you can keep fighting." She steadied her grip on the pistol. "But…"

Ann snorted, gripping the crown more tightly. "This guy doesn't deserve your pity."

Queen nodded. "We know he's too dangerous and too connected in the real world. I don't like it, but this may be our only chance."

Angel winced. "He's touched every girl and beat down every boy in the volleyball club, and a few others besides….but...should we kill him in cold blood?"

Morgana sighed. "It's your call, Joker. He hurt you more than any of us."

Rei pulled the trigger.

For a moment, no one moved. Then they all realized the bullet hadn't hit Kamoshida at all, but instead buried itself in the stone right between his legs. She was silent for a long moment. **"Wait...does that mean you forgive me?"**

"No." Rei said. "But I'm not the only one involved. If you just die, no one knows what happened and there's no chance for anyone to do better. It's even possible the next teacher will see you got away with it and be even worse."

" **Then...what do you want?"**

"I...I want to not have almost been raped." Rei said. "I _want_ to just be me. But...you can't do that."

" **...you're right. I apologize...to you...to everyone."** Kamoshida finally said. **"I'll return to my real self. Come to school tomorrow morning. You won't be disappointed."**

With that, he vanished. Rei holstered the pistol less than casually. Skull quietly squeezed her shoulder. "Hey, so….man. You sure about this?"

Rei sighed. "No."

The castle picked that moment to begin rocking. Morgana shrieked. "Bloody hell! This place is about to collapse! We've got to get out of here!"

They ran. With no more Shadows, there was nothing to contend with but falling rock, barely an obstacle to those with the power of Phantom Thieves. When Morgana turned back into a cat, Queen just scooped him up on Johana, and the same when Skull's knee gave out, not even giving him time to hit the ground. She could have zoomed on ahead, completely safe, but she stopped at each intersection to make sure the runners were still behind her. Eventually, they reached a window overlooking Shujin's courtyard. Joker, now masked again, growled. "Dammit….anime time." Everyone stared as she charged at the window and jumped out of it, falling over twenty meters to the ground.

When she stood up and waved, they sighed in relief and followed. Just in time, because the castle vanished behind them, replaced with the Metaverse equivalent of Shujin. "Woohoo!" Angel shouted. "We did it! How did you know that would work, Joker?!"

"Hunch."

There was a clapping sound, and a second voice almost identical to Rei's called out **"Oh, bravo,** _ **bravo!**_ **That was amazing!"** They all turned to stare as she stepped out from the front gate. Instead of a ninja outfit or even the Shujin uniform, instead she was just wearing a plain, public-school sailor-style uniform with a modest length skirt. But her hair was down over golden eyes, hiding them for a moment before she looked up. **"What's everyone looking at?"**

Queen recovered first. "Morgana? I thought she was a cognition."

"...no, I'm sensing...but how...someone with a Persona can't have a Shadow." Morgana said, his jaw dropping open completely. "It's just not possible."

" **It** _ **is**_ **, with the Wild Card."** The other Rei said. **"...oh, completely forgot, there's something I'm supposed to say here."** Everyone was completely nonplussed as the other Rei said loudly **"Come on, turn around, it doesn't work if you can see me come in…"**

"What are you, five?" Ann poked Joker lightly in the rib while they turned around.

Joker sighed. "Whatever…"

Then the other Rei's voice lowered menacingly. **"*Ahem*….I am a Shadow...the true self."**


	10. Chapter 10

Joker looked at the Shadow rather skeptically. "A Shadow. Okay. You look like me. But - "

 **"** _ **Don't.**_ **Say it."** Shadow-Rei interjected suddenly, her eyes widening slightly with fear and panic.. **"You're not ready for that discussion, not** _ **yet**_ **. I hate to say it, but that demon did us enough good that I'm willing to tolerate this stupidity for a bit longer."**

Adler appeared between the pair. **"Heed not this deceptive figment,"** she said.

 **"** _ **You're**_ **one to talk."** Shadow Rei countered. Then she turned back to Joker. **"We'll get to that some other day. For now, Phantom Thieves, well...there's something you need to know. All the mental shutdowns and psychotic breaks in Tokyo aren't accidents. There's someone else around. He goes around in a black mask and kills Shadows."**

Joker felt unsteady on her feet. "Whaaat? How do you know?"

 **"Saw him do it."** Shadow Rei shrugged. **"And I decided that I'd rather run into the perv's castle and make myself a little nest than stick around."**

Joker frowned. "If you're really me, why would you do that?"

 **"** _ **I'm**_ **not stupid enough to pick fights I can't win."** Joker winced. **"I just want to be left the Hell alone. But…"** She sighed in exasperation. **"That's not happening as long as this stupid 'game' is going on."** She held up a hand. **"Like I said, not today. I want to** _ **live**_ **too. And Adler there is way more useful than I ever could be on my own."** Joker winced again. **"For now, just be aware Black Mask is out there, and we'll talk again when I feel like it."** Shadow Rei turned to go.

"Wait!" Joker shouted. "You can't just leave it like that!"

Shadow Rei looked over her shoulder. **"What, that bit about the Wild Card? Well, okay. I know a little."** She stopped, as if to gather her thoughts. **"The Wild Card isn't actually a normal human ability, like everyone else's potential to wield their Personas. There's at least one other Persona user in this city with the Wild Card. He's got over a hundred Shadows locked up in his head, ready to be released. But...we can't do that yet. Not fully. Something went wrong."**

"Huh?" Joker only felt her confusion growing. "What do you mean?"

Shadow Rei shrugged. **"I'm not the one to ask."**

Morgana shook his head. "This Wild Card stuff is new to me too."

" **And there you have it. You'll have to ask the freak with the nose."** Shadow Rei grinned with amusement. And then she vanished.

Skull shook his head. "Freak with the nose? That was _weird._ And what's your Shadow doing running around on her own anyway?"

"I...I don't know." Joker said. "Let's...let's just get out of here? Please?"

* * *

Of course, it wasn't that simple. Shiho had to retrieve Ann's gym uniform. That left the rest of them in the alleyway, still in the Metaverse. Rei swallowed. "There's nobody here." She went around the corner. "The first one to peek gets it."

"Whaaa?" Ann shouted. "Really? Out in the open?"

Rei sighed. "I can't take the uniform any more. If some Shadow tries to peek….whatever. They're not human."

And with that, Rei was gone. For a few minutes everybody else just stood around awkwardly. Then Ryuji started to edge towards the street.

Makoto smacked him on the back of the head without looking up. "She'll kill you."

Ryuji rubbed the back of his head. "It ain't like that. I was just...y'know, curious."

Makoto shook her head. "Even if I was, and I'm not, it's still rude without asking. Like trying to peek at someone's tumor or something."

Ann nodded. "Besides, there's probably nothing to really see."

Rei's voice came floating down the alleyway. "It involves tape." _Everyone_ winced at that. "Go to an internet cafe and look it up later. There's vids that won't set off the porn filters. If you want to see what _I_ look like without clothes, buy me dinner first."

"Wait, f'real?" Ryuji exclaimed. Then he seemed to realize Rei'd actually offered to share pics of . . . some kind. "I mean, I guess there's people into that stuff, but…" he corrected, to try to make it seem like he wasn't interested.

When Rei reappeared, it was in her tight jean skirt and a red blouse. "Yeah, yeah. Trust me, I've heard it before." She held up a hand. "You get _one_ screwup of each type, then I get to beat you up. Deal?"

Everybody chuckled nervously, Ryuji most of all. "Yes Ma'am, got it!"

"Good." Rei said, slouching against the building. "You know, even if it isn't the real world, feels great to be myself this close to Shujin."

"Before the end of the year." Makoto said. "We'll figure something out before then."

Ann nodded along enthusiastically, adding "I don't know what Ryuji would do with the girls' uniform, and I'd go insane with those scratchy pants." Rei gave her a weird look. "Hey, I know it's different for you, just not too clear on 'how.' I didn't actually talk with Kimiko, there was just a quick lecture."

Rei brightened for a moment, then shook her head. "It's. . . it's fine guys," she said instead. "That's my problem, not our problem." She hefted her backpack. "Our problem is explaining where a bunch of high school students came up with a sack of gold."

Ryuji smirked. "Same place we're getting the guns. As long as it's real, he'll take it. Probably take a huge cut for himself too…"

Rei nodded...as Ann pulled out a gold olympic medal. "Ooooh." She took it without another word from Ann. "Yep, this is….hey. Damn, it's heavy."

"Well, it's a gold medal, isn't it?" Makoto asked. "Wouldn't you expect it to be heavy?"

"Probably…" Rei said uncertainly, but then Shiho reappeared. "Right." She said. "Ann, go get dressed and let's _get the Hell out of here._ " Ann ducked out of sight, and was much quicker about the change than Rei had been. They quickly walked the path that would take them back into the real world, and popped out down the alleyway from Haru.

Who blinked.

Rei blinked, then the rest of the Thieves followed.

Haru blinked again. "Sorry," she said. "I could have swore…"

Rei smiled. "Nope, we just turned down this way. You must have been distracted."

"Oh, I must have been, Amamiya-sa…" Haru said, then squinted as she got closer. "Oh, I'm sorry."

Rei thought quickly. "Oh, no, that's my name. Amamiya Rei."

"Oh, I thought you were your bro - "

Rei quickly said "Cousin, actually. Anyway, seeya!" She turned around and tried to saunter away, but instead she just stumbled.

Heru swallowed. "Is she all right, Niijima-san?"

"Yes." Rei said.

"No." Makoto said at the same time.

Rei glared at Makoto. "I'm. Fine."

Haru smiled. "Amamiya-san, you've been crying. Permit me to help."

"I'm fine." Rei repeated, with a little less conviction.

Ann put a hand on her shoulder. "Rei, you're exhausted. We all are."

Haru continued to smile. "I can at least summon a rideshare for you. I'm afraid I won't be able to come...I have...somewhere to be."

"That's great." Ryuji said, cutting off another objection from Rei. "I'll make sure she gets home." He quickly rattled off the address for the cafe. "Senpai, why don't you bring the others and we can talk in Rei's room?"

"That...was surprisingly sensible coming from you, Ryuji-kun." Makoto said with a slight smile. "Let's do that."

"I can make it on my own." Rei insisted. But the car pulled up, and Haru gently reached out and pushed her towards it. Rei nodded to her. "Th...thanks, Miss."

"Just call me Haru," the girl said.

"...Haru-chan." Rei replied with the best smile she could muster. Then she got into the car, with not a little more pushing from Ryuji, and the door closed. Haru leaned down to explain the situation to the driver

They hadn't made it down the block before the facade broke.

* * *

"What the Hell happened?!" Sojiro said after taking one look at Rei's face.

Ryuji growled. "Kamoshida happened. Had her pants down by the time I broke down the door." He managed to miss the other girls making shushing noises from the table.

Sojiro immediately turned grim. "Is this Kamoshida the teacher who was giving you a 'hard time'?" Rei swallowed, but nodded. "My prices just went down. You should have said _this_ was the kind of trouble you were having!" Rei's head was shaking helplessly as Ryuji started to help her towards the table. Sojiro sighed. "No, no, take her upstairs. Get her to bed if she wants, otherwise….I dunno. I'll close up."

"Please don't close the shop on my account," Rei said quietly. "I'm pretty sure between you and Mako-ch...Makoto if he shows up here he won't be leaving. Nothing's going to happen before the after-work school crowd leaves."

Sojiro frowned, but nodded. "Anything else I can do?"

"...coffee." Rei said. "Whatever's good to go on drip."

"Never you mind about that. Coffee's bad for nerves anyway." Sojiro said. "I can manage some tea." Rei nodded, and allowed herself to be led up the stairs.

Morgana was looking increasingly baffled. "Is Rei going to be okay?" he asked, the second Sojiro was out of earshot. Everyone quickly took seats, setting up a card table rescued from the basement.

Shiho sighed and picked him up to pull him into her lap, scratching behind his ears. "It's complicated, Morgana."

Rei sat down on her bed. "Guys, it's...okay, I'm _not_ fine but I will be. We're out of danger, right?" She sighed. "Sojiro's coming back, so we can't really talk about the whole thing. And I still haven't got this place set up. I need _some_ privacy around here…"

Ryuji grinned. "Well, then, what do you need? We've got all that gold, right?" Rei raised an eyebrow. "We can go out and get the stuff you need and help you get set up."

Makoto smiled. "That's actually a good idea. What were you thinking, Rei?"

"Well...the rafters can be used to drape some heavy blankets or something, separate my living area from Chief's stuff," Rei said. "Maybe in an L-shape, so Morgana can be off in his own corner too when he wants to be? Get a litterbox - "

"Hey! I _can_ use the toilet!" Morgana shot at her.

Rei sighed. "I was _going_ to say, we can get one of the fancy ones with the cover and then let you pick out what to line it with for a place to nap." She gave him a patient smile. "You'd prefer to have some space to yourself, right?"

Morgana had the good grace to look sheepish. "Okay, yeah, that does sound nice."

"Right. I'd do it myself, but Chief would kill us all for letting me out." Rei declared suddenly. She put several thousand yen on the table. "This is what's left of the seed money for the heist. Please…"

Everyone was caught off guard when Sojiro came up the stairs with a tray and four cups. "Coffee for Makoto-chan, tea for the rest of the girls, I know Ryuji likes cola so I brought this one up special…" He handed him a bottle. "And here's for Morgana." A saucer was put on the ground, which Morgana happily started to lap at. "Right. In the morning, I'm taking you to school and having a word with that gym teacher. For now...well, I've got to get home. I'm trusting you guys to lock up."

"Th..thanks Chief." Rei said.

Makoto nodded as well. "Actually, most of us will be leaving, but I believe Ryuji and I will return later to assist Rei with finishing her room."

"Well, I can't say no to letting a girl have more privacy than my storage room," Sojiro said with a shrug. "Especially after...this." If he'd heard about more than plans for the private area, he said nothing. "But that will have to wait till tomorrow, you hear? For tonight you should rest."

Rei thought about it. "I don't know if I'll sleep, but you mind if I head out for a minute? I think there was a TV and DVD player at the junk shop."

"You spotted that?" Ryuji asked.

Rei grinned. "I see all."

* * *

After a dinner of suspiciously fresh curry, Rei pulled out the box containing her personal possessions. At the bottom lay three DVDs, their covers extremely worn with age. With some reverence, she pulled them out and checked the discs like she always did. With a smile, she noted the only scratch, on the first one.

Morgana tilted his head at the odd, almost ritualistic, behavior. "What are those?"

Rei's smile turned sad. "My three favorite movies as a kid. The rest of the collection's back at Dad's place." She selected one. "I thought Mom threw these copies out." She picked out the copy of _The Little Mermaid_ and gave Morgana a look. "Mind if I play this one while I do my homework?"

"Of course not. It's your room." Morgana said. "I'd honestly have thought, after everything you've been through, you'd skip it."

"Can't." Rei said with a sigh. "Somehow I've kept my grades up through all this. I'd be going to cram school too, but they won't take me this year."

Morgana seemed to shrug at that, while Joker pulled out her math and got to work. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for Morgana to regret his life choices, starting from surviving Kamoshida's Shadow and going on back to when he was a baby. That he couldn't remember any of this wasn't particularly relevant.

When the opening musical number started, without so much as missing a single calculation, Rei began to sing. Loudly.

"Rei?!" Morgana shouted. She didn't even notice. The noise was horrific. Every note was dissonant, the words were half a beat off, and even if they weren't she couldn't seem to decide whether to sing in Japanese or English, switching mid-word. " _Rei!"_ If she heard, the named girl gave absolutely no sign.

Fortunately, the jaunty little sea shanty only lasted about a minute before the movie actually began and Rei's attention wandered again. Morgana peeked out, but the team's leader didn't seem to have noticed anything had changed. "...Rei?"

"Yes?" Rei looked up from the work. "Do you need something?"

Morgana starred in slowly growing horror. "You….I thought there was a Shadow in the music somehow!"

Rei blinked in surprise. "Oh, sorry, I tend to sing when I'm distracted."

"...that was _singing?_ "

Rei looked a little annoyed. "Yes. If you don't like it, why don't you go curl up downstairs?"

Morgana shook his head. "No...it's...fine…"

* * *

Once the movie was over, Morgana cautiously stuck his nose back into the room, to see Rei had moved on from math and was just setting aside several literature books. She looked at the English and snorted. "Ten minutes." It only took her eight.

Morgana watched her work with wide eyes. "How-"

Rei sighed. "I've been fluent in English since I was ten. Online chat rooms with other transkids. Better than all the repetition in the world."

Morgana looked at the stack of completed papers. "That's...impressive. What's it all for, though?"

"I'm gonna be a doctor." Rei said it in a matter-of-fact way. "Yeah, it's true they normally don't let criminal masterminds into medical school, but once it's off my record forever they won't need to know. So, grades have to be tops."

Morgana hopped up on the bed. "Well, as long as that's what you want. Still, it's getting late."

"...yeah, at least for today." Rei said, joining him on the bed.

* * *

Rei next awoke in what she was coming to think of as her 'other bed.' She groaned and tried to roll out off the cot. Operative word, tried. She quickly realized that it would be impossible, what with her wrists being tied down. "Wait, _WHAT?!_ What is _WRONG_ with you people?!"

Justine just made a note. "Patient, we told you to report back here when you had multiple Personas. You made things significantly harder for yourself, which reflects poorly on us as your assistants."

Caroline looked down at her from above, giving Rei a distinctly disoriented feeling. "Still, I _said_ we'd show you something good." Rei's eyes widened as the syringe popped into view.

Justine nodded. "Caroline wished to proceed directly to the electroshock therapy, but Master Igor decided to wait a little longer."

Rei felt a little prick in her arm, then the pain started. A few moments later, whatever was in that syringe started taking effect and everything began to swim around her. She felt, as much as saw, the Shadows she had tied herself to in the Palace swimming around her. "Focus, Patient!" Caroline's voice cut through the odd euphoric feeling that was threatening to overwhelm her. "You need to force through it."

"Wha'm I focussin' on," Rei slurred, but she tried to pull the Shadows she saw together.

"A little more," Justine's voice said. Rei tried to obey, but then it slipped, and she was suddenly fully awake again, sitting up in the bed. Justine made another note. "How are you feeling?"

Rei glared at her. "Like I'm going to throw up."

"That's normal." Justine said.

Caroline grinned. "Do you feel any more connections?"

Rei thought about it. "...yes, actually, it's weird."

Justine nodded. "The more Shadows you are connected to, the greater your power will grow."

Caroline had her stern face on as she added "You'll only be able to hold a few of them at a time, though. Return to us when you need different abilities."

"Will I have to do that again?" Rei asked.

Caroline laughed. "Why, want another shot?"

Justine sighed. "Please don't tease the patient, Caroline." She looked at Rei. "No. This procedure will only be medically necessary when your bonds have grown to the point that you need to process them. You may attempt it whenever you wish."

"As for changing out the Shadows linked to your Adler, that's just some quiet meditation in the cell." Caroline explained. "You'll pick them out, concentrate on them, and Adler will be changed to match what you feel you need."

"Got it." Rei said, standing up and looking straight at Igor. "Now, I've got questions."

"I'm sure you do," Igor, who had been quiet all through the 'treatment' and explanations, said. "But first, congratulations are in order. You have successfully completed your first task. In addition, you did so while finding allies who share your values, and will soon find your place in the world that is to come. Your rehabilitation has now begun."

Rei groaned. "This is why I hate you guys," she said, without much venom. "I'm getting a headache."

Justine put her clipboard down. "That is not a known side effect of the drugs you were just given."

"No." Rei agreed. "Just a side effect of not knowing what's going on in my life."

Igor laughed. "You are a most interesting patient. However, while you have begun, ruin is fast approaching. You must gain the power to fight it."

"O...kay." Rei sighed. "Well, I gain power by making attachments to people, and taking Shadows into my Persona, right? So keep doing what I'm doing?"

The bell tolled. "Indeed...and now our time is up." Igor said. "Farewell for now."

Rei realized she still had questions, but suddenly she felt...so...sleepy…

* * *

Rei walked up the steps to Shujin, then glanced sidelong at her guardian. There were a number of students staring at the unusual, almost unheard-of sight of an adult bringing someone to high school. "I should probably just go to class, huh?"

"I'll try having private words first, yes." Sojiro agreed, looking surprisingly grim. Then he looked up at the teachers watching the entrance, including a man in a muscle shirt. "That him?"

Rei gasped softly. At first, it was a brief pang of horror, but then she saw the dark circles under Kamoshida's eyes, and the defeated glint there. He just nodded at her. "Go to the gym, Amamiya-san. Assembly this morning."

"Ren, go to class." Sojiro countered. "If there's no one there, _then_ go to the gym."

Kamoshida sighed. "Are you her dad? Yeah, go ahead, beat the crap out of me. Just leave my teeth in, I still need them for a bit." Sojiro was so surprised he didn't even move for a sec. "After the assembly," Kamoshida added. "But by then the cops'll probably have me."

Sojiro's jaw _dropped._ "What's going on here? Ren, what happened last night?"

Rei only barely managed to check herself. "I have no idea. Sensei, about what happened last ni - "

"That was. . . just the last straw, I guess." Kamoshida said, looking a little confused. "I nearly threw up after practice...look, can you just get to the gym? Your dad can come too, no point hiding it."

* * *

The auditorium was filled with Shujin students, most of whom hadn't even bothered to go to their classes. As a result, instead of neatly standing in rows and organized by class, everybody simply ended up standing with the people they came in with. Rei found herself next to Haru, who gave her a nod and friendly smile. "Ren-kun. How's your cousin?"

It took Rei a second to remember that particular deception. "She will be fine," she answered, making certain to deepen her voice. "I'm afraid she was . . . assaulted. So she might be delicate for awhile."

"Oh!" Haru put a hand to her mouth in shock. "I'm glad I was able to help."

Rei couldn't help but smile. "Trust me, she's more grateful than she let on. She . . . can be a bit proud."

Haru smiled. "Well, perhaps we can go see her after school today."

Rei cursed internally. "I'm afraid that will not be possible. I am required to return home immediately following school because of my probation…" Then she had an idea. "I will send her a text message. Is there somewhere you would prefer to meet?"

"Big Bang Burger's probably too public…" Haru said nervously. Rei raised an eyebrow - it really didn't seem like the kind of place the gentle, sophisticated girl would eat. "Oh, I can eat there for free."

Rei suppressed a chuckle. "I suspect Rei would prefer somewhere less fattening to eat...but it is an acceptable meeting spot. I assume you mean the location in Shibuya?"

"That's right!" Haru smiled. "I might not be recognized at some other ones."

"Very well. I'll make the arrangements," Rei said.

Haru sighed. "I do wish you wouldn't be so formal." Rei just shrugged helplessly, not really having a good answer. Haru frowned, but movement on the stage caught her attention. "Oh, there's the Principal."

Rei completely failed to keep the scowl off her face while she looked up at the man. Kabayokawa was busy scanning the crowd. Suddenly, their eyes met and he smiled at her. "Amamiya! Get up here!"

Rei briefly felt her blood run cold, but rescue came from the most unexpected of sources. "Stay where you are, Amamiya." Kamoshida said. "This message is for everyone." He walked out onto the stage. When it looked like his boss was about to shout something, he shouted over him. "Is that everyone!? May I have your attention?!" The school slowly quieted, the discussion dying to a low murmur.

"Good...I have an announcement to make," Kamoshida said, collapsing in on himself. "I...have been reborn. That's why I called this assembly. I need to make a confession. Some of you may have noticed the police if you arrived early this morning. They are here for me, at my request.

"I have engaged in behavior...not becoming a teacher," he continued. "I have physically abused all of the students in my club. I have molested the girls, and even . . . even had sex with some of them." The murmurs started up again, but he silenced them. "I thought of myself as the king of this school, my own private castle. I could do no wrong. I...I _was_ wrong." He fell onto the stage in a full-on kow-tow. "For those affected….and for those this confession will affect, my apologies won't be anywhere near enough, but it is all I have to offer. That...and my arrest." He looked straight at Rei. "This loss was of my own making….and I will take whatever punishment the law and society deem appropriate to atone. Effective immediately, I resign my position at Shujin Academy."

Rei swallowed, and ran out of the gym.

* * *

She almost wasn't able to intercept Kamoshida as he left the gym. The police seemed determined to get him out unnoticed, but they proved to be no match for Rei's new powers of observation. She got to the side entrance they were pulling him through just before they got there. One of the cops stepped in front. "Kid, I don't care what he did to your girlfriend. It's our job to see him get to the trial healthy and in one piece."

Kamoshida held up a hand. "I'll speak to her." That surprised her entire escort. "In private."

Rei submitted to a brief patdown, getting a weird look from the officer performing it. "Two minutes, kid," he said, before she was able to go around the corner.

"...thanks," Kamoshida said, and Rei's jaw dropped. "You had...something...to do with this, right? The weird calling card had 'kid' written all over it, and you and Sakamoto were the only ones willing to call me out." He waved her off. "No, no, it's fine. I threw it in a trash can. I was...completely out of control. I see that now. I haven't been...in control in a long time."

"May I ask...why?"

Kamoshida stopped and looked up into the sky. "There was a woman. There always is, isn't there? Lost her when I was spending so much time training for the Olympic team, and then you get into all the parties and the drugs and stuff and it's hard to keep sight of what's important. Whatever you did….you got my head back on straight. If I ever see daylight again after today, I promise to do it right this time…" He gave her a weak smile. "You know, back in the day I'd have beat you up. But you're stronger than I'd have ever given you credit for. Don't let that ass Kabayokawa get to you before you get to him, huh?"

"Eh?" Rei asked.

Kamoshida raised an eyebrow. "You're gonna do him next, right?"

"I can neither confirm nor deny," Rei replied. Honestly, as a matter of fact, since she hadn't thought about it at all.

Kamoshida chuckled. "Smart answer. Anyway, that's all I had to say. Go on. Don't give the other bastard an excuse."

Rei gave him a weak smile. "For what it's worth...I wish it hadn't been necessary."

"Me too, kid. Me too…"

* * *

Rei was intercepted at the stairs by Makoto, who sighed. "Okumura's confused as heck, you know."

"...do you have her contact info?" Rei scratched her head nervously. "Sorry, but after...that...I just couldn't let it go."

Makoto nodded. "I don't, but she said she'd go straight to Big Bang and wait all day. What was up with that?"

"Date, I think?" Rei sighed. "Or at least she wanted to check on Rei after last night." She looked around. "Is Haru-san using the roof now?"

"Fortunately, no." Makoto said. "Also, after that classes are canceled. There's detectives wanting to talk to each class, but they're going in order. So we have a little time if you think we need a quick meeting."

Rei shook her head. "Not until after they've gone through our classes. They're going in-order right, then everyone's dismissed?" Makoto nodded. "Okay. For today, just say nothing. I think Ryuji can handle that much….or he'll tell them the truth, which is almost as good. After we're done, we go our separate ways for today. I'll get to Shibuya, sell the stuff we lifted like Ryuji said, and then go on my 'date.' Tomorrow after school we'll figure out what to do with the cash. Sound good?"

"If no one else objects," Makoto said anxiously.

* * *

Rei was just about to continue when the Ambassador's phone vibrated. He sighed, and pulled it out while Rei just smiled at him. "Hey, I'm just the most important teenager in the world," she said with obvious humor. "Obviously, if there's something going on go ahead."

"An issue with security," the man explained. "Nothing major. One police officer from the Tokyo Metropolitan police."

Rei's entire demeanor changed in moments. "Do you have a description?"

"I'm afraid not. I can check."

Rei frowned and looked out the window, but it was useless as the window only faced the back wall and the river. "Tokyo Metro cops never work alone. I know that from Mako-chan. Higher level NSB might…."

The Ambassador shook his head. "Unlikely. And the Public Security Intelligence Agency wouldn't be so blunt. We're going into lockdown, just in case."

Rei frowned. "It could be the Kirijo Group, but they'd just identify themselves as such." She frowned. "Is it a man or a woman?"

"I assume a man. They would have identified a woman."

Rei smiled. "Oh, I've been looking _forward_ to this." The Ambassador looked surprised. "I hadn't gotten there yet. Show him into another interview room. Let's let him stew for a couple of hours. That'll give me long enough to finish this and have a meal." She paused. "Okay, feed him too." Her smile turned feral. "Self-righteous bastard."

"Are you quite certain, Miss Amamiya?" The Ambassador looked surprised. "He could be here to - "

Rei gave him her trademark smirk. "Oh, I'm fairly sure he's here to bring me in. I'm _also_ pretty sure he's not here on official authority. I'm the only one whose identity he definitely knows, that's still in Japan anyway. Possession is nine tenths and all that. So we're better off keeping him distracted here than letting him loose."

A shake of the head. "You have a devious mind, young miss. I expect you'll go far."

"Right. While we're letting him cool his heels, let's continue."

* * *

The cops had taken over the Student Council room, probably among other things. Rei sighed and took her seat. "Yes, sir," she said without hesitation. "I'm the probate. Yes, Kamoshida targeted me. No, I _really_ don't feel like talking about it."

The officer, stared at her. "Amamiya-san, you're - "

Rei growled. "Read. The damn. File. Transgirl. I'm using a sports bra and loose-fitting pants. Do the math." She sighed. "No, I have no idea why he suddenly gave up. I'm no psychiatrist."

"Well, we'll look into it," the officer said. "Do you wish to make any other official statement?"

Rei shook her head. "Do you need someone to press charges? Otherwise, no."

"No...his confession is sufficient," The officer said uncertainly. "Just...one other thing. You spoke to the man before he was taken away. What did he say?"

She shrugged. "Not much more than what he already said on stage. I was just confused." She sighs. "Anyway, can we please not let this get out. The principal's abusing the morality code to force me to attend as a boy. Which is. . . I could probably win in court if I wouldn't go to jail for trying."

The young man snorted. "I probably should put this in the official record and haul you downtown. But under the current circumstances, we'll let it go. It's not worth _my_ job trying to get you in trouble with the rules tightening up next year. As long as you stick to the law, we'll let the school deal with you."

Rei sighed. It was probably the best she was going to do. "Fine."

* * *

Immediately after she was released, Rei made her way to Untouchable, only stopping to change at Shibuya Station in the family restroom. Grateful the police hasn't searched her, she had let Morgana out of her bag as soon as was practical and presented them to the shady proprietor.

Iwai spent almost five minutes looking over her take. "Where did you get all this? I don't deal in fake or stolen goods."

Rei shrugged. "Honestly, I _am_ pretty sure it's fake." The man gave her a sour look. "Well, the Olympic medal is anyway. But it's a really _good_ fake except for one point. Whoever did it either used lead, or solid gold. I'm pretty sure the real thing isn't either of those."

Iwai raised an eyebrow. "I can check that."

"Go ahead." Rei said with a shrug. "Even if it's lead, it'll still have some metal value. Anyway, no one's going to come looking for a bunch of solid silver and copper nicknacks, I know that."

There was a long session of very careful weighing while Rei bit her lip nervously. "I'll be," Iwai said at last. "You're right, someone was a _real_ dumbass. You're _sure_ you came by this legit?"

Rei sighed. "That's going to depend on your definition of 'legit', but no one was hurt, no crime was committed, and no one's going to come looking for it. I can promise you that much on my life."

Iwai raised an eyebrow. "On your life, huh? What makes you think I can't hold you to that, if you're hearing I'll buy stuff like this?"

Rei's smile was simply confident. "I'm actually just that sure it won't matter, because it won't happen."

"Uh...huh." Iwai glanced around. "You into something, kid?"

Rei thought about her response. "It's just possible. It's not illegal because, as far as I know, no one's heard of it."

"I've heard of some wild things," Iwai pointed out. "If the cops come around wondering about this stuff, I'm pointing them at you." Even as he spoke, he pulled out the cash and started counting out small bills. "If you come by more and you're not in jail, I can maybe pay you more next time."

"No worries."

* * *

There really wasn't much to say about Big Bang Burger. With the space-themed decor and furniture typical of fast food throughout Japan and the world, if you had ever been inside one of the establishments, you had been inside of all of them. There were teenagers from all of the schools around Shibuya noisily lining up to get their alleged after-school snacks of 'beef' on what were most likely bread buns and soggy fried potatoes.

Rei looked around for a bit before she realized Haru wasn't out front. Instead, she had - somehow - taken over a small, discreet room for kid's birthday parties and was sitting primly in the back corner, sipping at a soda. Rei took notice of the employees glaring at her when she went in without buying anything. "Haru-chan," she said with a smile. "What's all this? Did you rent out the room just for us or something?"

"Oh, no, of course not," Haru said. "But my father owns the restaurant, so as long as it's not actually being used by paying customers I can bend the rules a little. As long as I don't do it too often." She went silent for a few seconds, then coughed. "Uhm, I have an account. Just go out and let the counter know what you'd like."

Rei shook her head. "No thanks. The line's a bit long." She closed the door.

Haru smiled. "Of course. We can get something later." She patted the seat next to hers indicating Rei should use it. "Are you all right? Do you need to talk about it with someone?"

Rei sighed. "N-no."

Haru put a hand on her shoulder. "No you don't need to talk, or no you're not all right?"

Rei pulled her legs up to her chest in the slightly-too-small chair, keeping them tightly together. "I'm...I'm definitely not all right. But I'm not ready to talk." She smiled. "Thanks for trying to help, though. You just met me yesterday, and all…"

"Nonsense." Haru said firmly. "May I ask...did this have to do with a Shujin teacher?"

Rei gulped. _This is bad. I should have just told her._ But...there were already too many people who knew what 'Ren' really was. She'd just have to try to keep this up. "I don't go to Shujin," she tried to point out, which was technically true. 'Rei' didn't.

"The door isn't locked," Haru pointed out. "Was it Kamoshida?" Rei nodded, squeezing her knees even more tightly. "Then you should know that he turned himself in afterwards."

Rei couldn't hold back a slight comment. "Getting off too easy...but it's the best we're going to do. I already know I'm not the only one, just the last." She sighed. "Can we not, Haru-chan?"

Haru smiled. "Of course. I don't think anyone's ever called me that so quickly...or in a long time. Everyone's usually too intimidated by my family."

Rei grinned. "Well, call me Rei-chan, and how about we make a deal on that?" Haru raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me about your family, and I don't have to be intimidated." That got a laugh. "Seriously, if you just need someone to talk to, I'm available after school." She paused. "Just...uhm, no offense, but I don't _ever_ want to go back to Shujin, so we can coordinate by phone."

Haru immediately looked crestfallen. "Father screens my contacts."

Rei closed her eyes to think. "How closely? Would he catch it if you added a home phone to someone who doesn't have one?"

"...that might work," Haru said. "I hope so. It's been so long since I had anyone to talk to."

Rei smiled. "Well, for today, that'll do. We can figure out something better if it comes up." She smiled at her new friend. "In the meantime, well, we're in Shibuya. There's gotta be something better to do than stuffing our faces."

Haru smiled. "I'd like that, I think. Is there a cafe?"

"...no, but I know about one."

* * *

The pair arrived at LeBlanc shortly thereafter via the subway. Rei had been surprised to find out Haru didn't have a smart card, but they'd worked out how to deal with the machine to get her one easily enough.

When they arrived, Sojiro looked up from his coffee to give Rei a surly look, but then he caught Haru standing behind her. "Oh...I see," His scowl briefly changed to a grin. "So the little troublemaker found another friend, huh?"

Rei chuckled nervously. "Sorry I didn't come home right away, Chief. I know things were...awkward, when I don't go to Shujin like my cousin…" _Please take the hint, please take the hint._

Sojiro caught it. "Yeah, well, anything you buy for this girl's coming out of your pay…"

"Oh, that won't be necessary," Haru said. "I'll pay our check. Rei-chan said you serve good coffee."

"Well, you might say that," Sojiro said sheepishly. "Would you like a dessert as well?"

Rei bit her lip. "That one's on me. Definitely."

"Oh, but I - "

Rei smiled sheepishly. "I made'em. I can give them to my friends if I want to."

Haru looked at Sojiro questioningly. When he nodded, she smiled. "All right, I accept." The pair of them sat down at the third table, and soon enough there was coffee in front of both of them, along with a tart in front of Haru. She took a sip of the coffee, then exclaimed "Oh, my. This is amazing, Chief-san."

Sojiro chuckled while Rei couldn't restrain a giggle. "Just Chief, Haru-chan. It's a title. Sojiro-san's my guardian." She said the last by way of explanation.

Haru paused, then realized that Rei was staring expectantly. "Oh, oh my, I'm sorry." She picked up the treat, with its' whipped topping, and bit into it. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "You made this?"

"Hey!" Sojiro interjected. "You're not as amazed by my coffee!" His smile informed the two he was joking.

Haru nodded. "Yes, the coffee is excellent. What surprised me is that Rei is just a high school student. The appearance wasn't all that it could be, and the crust was only passable, but she did extremely well on the filling. If I hadn't known better, I'd have assumed it was from a professional bakery having an off day."

Rei blushed. "I've been working on it," she said. "I never expected to have to sell them for my pocket money, but any port in a storm, right?"

They talked a little longer, until Rei heard steps coming down the stairs. She looked over her shoulder at Makoto, who was smiling. "You should have said you were back. Okumura-san." She nodded to Haru. "Would you like to come up?"

Haru frowned, suddenly checking her phone. "Oh, my. I'm sorry, I lost track of the time. I should really be going."

Rei sighed. "Of course. Haru-chan, feel free to come by any time after school."

Once Haru had left, Sojiro turned a little more grim. "Now that that's out of the way, perhaps you'd like to explain why you ran off right after that trash walked off the stage?"

Rei sighed. "No. I mean, yes, I'd _like_ to explain but I just can't. I just...it was so sudden, I had to know what the hell…"

"Did he say anything that made sense?" Sojiro asked.

Rei thought about it, then shook her head. "No. Yes and no. It matched that whole 'reborn' thing he was going on about, but he didn't say what about my case caused him to change his mind about everything he's done since he freaking won the Olympics." She shrugged. "It was stupid, I'm sorry…"

Sojiro shook his head. "Go on. Your other friends had been here awhile, but they wanted me to keep you down here anyway. Okumura was just a good excuse."

Rei frowned, but followed Makoto up the stairs. Morgana was sitting at the top, and smiled. "M'lady, your chambers await." Rei looked suspicious, but she realized there wasn't as much light as there should be, or at least not as much natural light. At the top of the landing was a lamp that had had an LED light bulb placed in it, necessary due to the close proximity to the woven wool blankets now hanging around. One of the shelves had also been moved from its' place against the wall to opposing the other one, with a heavy curtain along the back. Another curtain was hung by a dowel clamped to each of the two shelves, creating a sort of antechamber while allowing access to the shop's supplies.

Rei pulled the curtain aside. There wasn't actually _much_ different about the room itself, but there had apparently been enough time to finish cleaning, and someone had purchased a pair of small portable filing cabinets that were now doing a passable job of being clothes drawers, along with another line hung up between the shelves and the far wall to hang clothes from. At the far side, Morgana's new bed was also there, just as Rei had suggested. The desk had been pulled out, so that the small TV could be watched from the bed or anywhere in the room.

Sitting on the bed was Ann, with Shiho next to her. Ryuji was sprawled out on the couch, but he looked up. "Hey. How do you like it?"

Rei couldn't fight it down any more. Tears escaped the corners of her eyes. "Guys...you didn't have to do all _this._ "

Ryuji grinned. "It wasn't too much. Between me and Makoto, we got all the heavy stuff moved, and Shiho did most of the climbing. Only took an hour." He put the remains of the money on the table. "Besides, you did pay for the stuff."

"I guess I did…" Rei said, still sniffing. "I'd have helped."

Shiho smiled. "I wanted to do something nice for you."

Ann nodded. "If it wasn't for you, we'd have never gotten rid of Kamoshida."

"Something would have happened eventually," Makoto demurred. "But we _did_ speed up the process. So, Rei, sit down. I believe we had more to discuss."

Rei nodded. "Ye-yes. The 'split', I think they call it."

"Shouldn't we divide it evenly?" Morgana asked, jumping up on the table.

Rei chuckled. "Well, I'll hold on to your share...and after you guys were so nice, I hate to do this, but…"

Ann frowned. "What's this about a 'split' anyway?"

Rei sighed. "Stuff that originates from the Metaverse sometimes has some reality when it's brought back. I managed to snag enough in precious metals that even after the cut the guy who runs Untouchable took we made money on this, so…" She sighed. "Anyway...I'd like a fifty percent share."

Morgana rasied an eyebrow. "Why?"

Rei shrugged. "I bankrolled this whole thing. Fake firearms, airsoft guns, martial arts weapons, fake and real grade? Snacks, medicine, bandages? It's not _cheap_ guys, and I have an expensive surgery coming up." She held up a hand. "The thing is, if I take half that would cover my expenses and leave me _slightly_ ahead of the rest of you if you agree to split the rest evenly."

Makoto frowned thoughtfully. "That does make sense, and I suppose none of us did it _for_ the money…"

Rei perked up a little. "If we decide we want to do this again, make that an official rule going forward? If anyone else wants to sponsor a heist like that, they take their own fifty percent in the future, of course, not just me."

Ryuji groaned. "Where am I supposed to get that kind of money?"

Rei chuckled. "Well, we made out pretty good this time, and hopefully we won't need to stock a complete arsenal every time we head out."

Makoto shook her head. "That assumes we _will_ head out."

Morgana frowned, looking at her. "You mean to tell me you _don't_ want to be a Phantom Thief?"

Makoto was thoughtful. "In all truth, I'm not certain. We did this because there were few options to prevent a grave injustice, but on seeing the results I feel we should be cautious going forward."

Ann sighed. "Yeah. Kamoshida was a real creep, but does _anyone_ deserve what we ended up doing to him?"

"Yes." Rei and Shiho said at the same time. "It's better than killing him." Shiho added.

Rei, still looking pensive, said "Okay, Makoto already knows this, but I'm going to continue exploring the Metaverse, with or without you guys." Shiho, Ryuji, and Ann all stared at her. "I didn't say I was going into any more Palaces or anything like that, but Morgana was human, right? Then he got somewhere deep into the Metaverse, and now he's. . . well, a cat. Do the math?"

Ryuji shook his head. "No offense, but I don't wanna end up a cat or a chick...but if we can pick up more stuff, well, I guess I can use a part time job."

Shiho nodded. "Yes, I definitely need something." Ann gave her a concerned look, but she shook her head. Rei caught it, and looked at Shiho questioningly. "It's nothing."

Rei sighed. "Okay, so I'll take half today and you guys split the rest evenly?" At the sounds of agreement, Rei pulled out the envelope she had put the money into, and carefully counted it out. By the time she was done, everyone's eyes were wide in astonishment. "So, yeah. As for our next move...well, I say we lay low for a bit. Just until the police go away."

Shiho quickly snatched up her own share. "Yeah, that sounds good. I'm in for whatever you have planned," she said, a little too quickly.

Makoto put her own money into her purse. "We'll have to be careful spending it, too. Wouldn't do for our various guardians to find out we had this much with no explanation."

Ann grinned. "How about we celebrate, as long as we've got it?"

"Have something in mind?" Rei asked.

Shiho coughed. "Ann was talking about this hotel the other day. There was a really fancy buffet…"

"The Wilton," Ann confirmed. "I was there on a modeling job, and it all looked _sooo_ good."

Makoto frowned. "Aren't places like that really fancy? I would worry a bit about Ryuji."

"Oi."

Rei frowned. "I wouldn't have anything to wear someplace like that either," she said. "All my really nice dresses are at home."

Ann gasped. "Are you serious? You came to live in Tokyo and not _one_ dress you could use to go out?"

"...well, it all had to fit in two boxes and a suitcase and - " Rei started.

Ann grinned. "We'll go to the Wilton after the next job, tonight we go _shopping!_ "

Makoto coughed. "Rei may be in a bit of trouble after her 'date'. I suggest tomorrow?"

" _Date?"_ Ann was even more scandalized-sounding, to the point where it would be funny if Rei weren't caught up in it. "Seriously, who's the lucky boy, or girl? Kimiko mentioned some transgirls prefer girls too…"

Rei coughed. "Jeez, it wasn't a date. She's engaged…"

Makoto raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Ring," Rei said. "She keeps the gem on the inside of her hand so it's less noticeable."

Shiho winced. "Ow. That's got to be painful."

Rei sighed. "I was hoping to ask her about it at some point, but it didn't seem right today."

"Well," Makoto said, forestalling any further outbursts from Ann, "It sounds like a much better mystery than 'how do we bring the school's serial rapist to justice' at any rate. Perhaps a subject for another time. As to the celebration...Once Rei-chan has suitable attire, we can consider where to go that might _not_ draw so much attention. You too, Ryuji-kun," At Ryuji's protest, she chuckled. "A nice shirt will suffice, I think. You probably shouldn't put in an appearance in that T-shirt in a fancy restaurant."

Morgana pouted. "Besides, they probably wouldn't let a cat in."

Rei smiled. "You know, I think my extra pay includes juuuust enough for something I'd been meaning to do once I found out I'd be living in Tokyo."

* * *

"...and, that was it." Rei said to her host, standing up to stretch her legs a bit. "I mean, it wasn't the formal declaration or anything, but once nobody tried to actually call an end to things, we weren't going to _stop_ being the Phantom Thieves."

"And I can certainly extrapolate from there." The Ambassador said, putting his notepad away. "You discovered that Kamoshida was far from unique."

Rei nodded. "Something like that." She looked down at her phone. "Well, the cafeteria's serving dinner."

"We can have the chef send something up. There's no need for you to eat with the staff."

Rei shook her head. "Nah. I'm good. Besides, once I'm out of here I'm going to have to get used to it." She smiled. "By your leave, sir?" she said, switching to her halting Dutch. He nodded at her and smiled.

After a quick dinner of foods Rei considered far too heavy to be healthy, along with several of the side salads, she retreated to her room to shower and change. She checked her clock again. _A bit over two hours...good enough, he ought to be going crazy by now._ She stretched, and then made her way to the windowless meeting room. The interior was nice enough despite that, with wood paneling and actual furniture, along with sufficient light, but there was no mistaking that the purpose of this place was privacy.

There was only one figure sitting at the meeting room table, lonely amongst the eight chairs. He was tall, unusually so for a Japanese person even in modern times. His build was powerful, but not overly muscled - a man who doesn't so much work out as exercise to a precise plan to aid him in necessary physical activity. His face was far too young for his grey hair and eyes, and Rei decided after a moment it must be a quirk of genetics. In truth, they had never held still long enough around each other for her to decide. He wasn't, as Rei had predicted he wouldn't be, wearing the uniform of a common officer. Instead he was affecting plainclothes, a dark suit and tie, stiff and formal. It didn't suit him, truthfully - something about his normally laid-back attitude. He looked up at her, and their eyes met. There was nothing particularly laid back about him right now. "Amamiya Ren-san," he said, causing Rei to bristle. "You're under arrest."

Rei rolled her eyes, but kept her tone neutral. "Narukami."

* * *

 _A/N: And that concludes the first 'book' of The Masks I wear. If my current rate of work holds, you can probably expect another novel's worth by late fall, but for the time being I'm going on hiatus to make sure all of my plans for the second book, hopefully a full novel's length, will be coherent and I won't seriously contradict myself._

 _Also, if you're reading the AO3 version, you'll note I've updated the tags to include some warnings. I sincerely regret my decision not to include them to begin with, and if anybody was hurt by encountering those things unwarned, I sincerely apologize here._


	11. Part 2 Prologue

It was Ren's secret spot. A place outside of town that probably at least one of every generation of Yasuda's youth found. Ren had lucked out in being the only one so far. The clearing was just far enough off the only road into and out of town that it couldn't be seen from there, and a thick overgrowth left just enough room under it for a six year old to crawl in. Beyond, there were a few logs in a wide circle, and a tall tree stump with a hollowed-out core that was perfect for hiding things.

And at that stump, Ren Amamiya was sobbing. It had been almost an hour since he'd retreated here, and school was still in session, he knew. The teachers would be furious, and his mother…

That thought brought him up short. Maybe it would be best to just go. Still, he knew running away from home wouldn't be as easy as just deciding to. After the incident with Taro, he realized he'd at least need train fare. Maybe he could find a temple like in the old stories to take him in.

Ren reached under the tree stump. Awhile ago, it had contained everything he had managed to save up over the past year. Unfortunately, he had been hauled on a trip to Sapporo by the school, and forced to spend some of it. Then he'd snuck off and managed, in complete secrecy, to buy a few things for himself. These he'd stored in an old plastic box to ward off the elements and stuck in here, to ensure his parents didn't find them.

Two Lovely Star hairclips, a small compact mirror, a brush, and a number of colored ribbons, to be exact. The shopkeep had assumed they were for his little sister, and he hadn't bothered to correct her.

Unfortunately, that left him with a single five hundred yen coin in reserve. Enough to make it to Sapporo, maybe, but not as much as a cup noodle beyond that. A fresh round of tears came to Ren's eyes. He was going to have to face the music.

...but not right away. He pulled out the mirror and gently attached the two clips to his hair, just like Lovely Star did in her costume for fighting evil. He tried to tie the ribbon in back, but recently he'd been forced to cut his hair so short it was almost to the scalp, as punishment for some transgression he couldn't remember anymore. There seemed to be so many in the past year.

He tilted his...or her head. If it weren't for the very boyish t-shirt and shorts, he could almost imagine…

A sound, coming from the side of the clearing. He tried to rip his treasures off fast enough not to be caught with them, but Amamiya Seiichi was too quick. Ren had never wondered what was past this place, but apparently there was another way in. His father was a tall man, or at least Ren thought so. He kept his hair and beard neatly trimmed. Apparently, Ren's disappearance had had his father so distraught he hadn't bothered to take off his lab coat.

Seiichi sighed. "I should have guessed you would claim this place," he said, taking an awkward seat on the largest log. "You realize your mother is worried half to death about you."

Ren winced, but found himself saying "I don't care," without thinking. He knew he'd made a mistake as soon as he said it. His father's expression darkened for several moments, but then something Ren wasn't expecting happened.

Seiichi gave his son a very sad smile. "I suppose the obligations of filial piety can only extend so far." Ren was about to ask what he meant when he held up a hand for silence. "Ren, I have been speaking with one of my colleagues. You won't have heard of him, but Saito-sensei is very knowledgeable in a field of expertise that is well outside general medical practice."

Ren thought about that. It didn't seem relevant to the conversation at hand, but...well, there was only one topic that her father couldn't seem to handle. If he'd been talking to a specialist doctor…"Can he fix me?" he asked.

The question cause Seiichi's face to change several times. First was anger, quickly quashed. The second was a long, examining look at Ren, almost as if he was seeing something about his son that wasn't there yet. Third, a sort of resignation, before acceptance. "It will not be easy. There will be many challenges along the way. Ren…" His voice hitched. "I have done as much research as my limited ability allows. According to the latest scientific research I can find that has not been thoroughly discredited...there is nothing _wrong_ with you."

"Mom sure doesn't think so," Ren muttered, kicking a stone as he finally stood in front of his father, one hairclip still decorating his head. A bit louder, he asked "If he can't fix me, what good is he?"

Seiichi looked at his son, and sighed. "You may be a bit young yet to understand the difference. Saito-sensei cannot fix what isn't broken. But...I fear that what might be termed a 'normal life' is not for you, whatever you decide." He sighed. "I will get to that in a minute, of course. We have a more immediate issue to deal with." Ren winced. "Why are you not in school?"

Ren groaned. "I just...couldn't stand it anymore. All I said was that Lovely Star is better than Featherman this year when the - " his voice hitched. "- other boys were talking about it."

Seiichi raised an eyebrow. "An interesting, and possibly valid, point. How does this relate to taking an early day without permission?"

Ren's voice went very quiet. "They all said that Lovely Star is stupid because it's a girls' show. I just said that if girls are stupid, then girls being awesome would be even more awesome."

Seiichi's eyebrow raised higher. "I still do not understand the connection."

"...well, then we...kinda started fighting," Ren admitted.

The strike to his bottom came so fast he barely had time to register the pain, although it didn't last longer than a minute. After a moment's shock, Ren's father shook his head. "Ren, that was completely unacceptable. I can only allow for your...unusualness so much." Ren was still baffled. Finally, Seiichi sighed. "So...Ren, there will be times in your life you will _need_ to fight. I wish I could keep you safe from that, but it's not an option. However, you _must_ learn when a fight isn't worth fighting, even if you win. Can you explain to me how successfully asserting a belief that one television show is innately superior to another leads to a victory worth having?"

"I...I didn't think about it."

Seiichi nodded. "I didn't think so...however, there was a correct answer to that question." At Ren's quizzical expression, Seiichi smiled. "The reason you fought, I believe, is not that Lovely Star is the better show, which it so clearly is. It is because they told you that girls are inferior." Ren blinked. "Do not believe that, even for a moment. No matter what anyone tells you, girls are as capable as boys. That belief will be important to you in the future."

"To assist you with this lesson…" Seiichi went on "I have decided on four martial arts schools in the city. You will select one. Alongside your work with Saito-sensei, you will achieve _at a minimum_ the rank of first _dan_. I will not allow my child to enter the world unprepared to face the challenges it will present." Ren's eyes widened. "You had but a small taste of these hardships today." He took a deep breath. "If you truly wish to be a girl, many people will try to stop you, cause you to doubt, even to question your own mind. Your training in the martial arts will test your resolve, as well as giving you the strength to meet those who would harm you for your choice."

Ren's eyes were the size of dinner plates. "Dad? You...I mean…"

Seiichi paused, then nodded. "A daughter can be my heir as easily as a son. It will...take time for your mother to accept this, but I'm certain we can convince her. But, for now...you will need to pretend, except with me and your new doctor." He took a deep breath. "There is one other task you need to do, but it need not be now. I want you to select a new name. For now, I'll only use it when we're alone so you can be safe, but eventually it will be the name the world knows you as."

Ren smiled. "I already know, father. My name is. . . "


	12. Chapter 11

Narukami Yu stood up to his full height, towering over Rei and looking down at her. She looked back up at him with a bored expression, but one of her hands went to the place along the small of her back where she habitually kept her daggers during her Phantom Thieves days. It wasn't there, but habits died hard. "Amamiya-san," Narukami tried again. "I'm afraid I really do have to ask you to give up this nonsense. There are guards at the front entrance twenty four hours a day. Any attempt to leave the embassy will leave you exposed. If you come with me now, I can get you past the assigned police and ensure you'll be safe from whoever it is you're afraid of."

Rei snorted. "Narukami, you may be the strongest Persona user around, but you're _blind_ if you think I believe you can do what you say you can. There's no way in Hell I'm listening to a monster who took to the mushroom treatment and damn near destroyed the world in the process."

"Mushroom treatment?" Narukami asked, surprised. "What do you mean?"

Rei rolled her eyes. "Kept in the dark and fed sh - "

"I know the saying," Narukami answered, his eyes narrowing. "Are you saying you think I don't know everything going on?"

"When's the last time you talked to Kirijo-san?" Rei countered. When Narukami looked slightly uncomfortable, she added "What about Aigis-san? Labyrs-chan? Heck, even Shirogane-san."

"Naoto is working on an important case she can't talk about." Narukami said easily. "It happens in police work."

Rei sighed. "Listen to yourself. I mean, _really_ listen to yourself. Ultimately, that's your problem right there. That's how they got to you." His eyes narrowed at her. "Think about it. I heard about your Contract, in general terms anyway, from Labrys-chan. I can make guesses from there. In the end, you believe, _deeply_ , in justice. Not just as a social construct, but as an _idea._ You only stepped in to do the work of the police when you were my age because they _couldn't._ " She smirked. "Any objections?"

Narukami looked like he'd just been punched in the gut. "A little better than I'd like, I'll admit. But you still broke the law. Moreover, you _violated_ people."

Rei sighed. "I never said I didn't. Or that I was necessarily one hundred percent right. But we had rules, Narukami-san," She took a seat. "Go on. This is going to take awhile."

"What rules." Narukami definitely wasn't asking a question. "Artists, students, teachers, engineers, politicians, celebrities...I looked over all of the known and suspected cases of Phantom Thief intervention, and there was no connection aside from the ones that ultimately led me to you."

Rei shook her head. "I'd say about 80% of your case files probably weren't on us. A lot of the time the rumor mill did a pretty good job. That was the first rule, in fact - stealing a person's heart is an _extreme_ measure. All had to agree that we couldn't just nudge the authorities in the right direction _and_ that harm was imminent if we did nothing."

Narukami raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? Nonetheless, you still admit that you assaulted _some_ people."

"Of course. The law allows intervention and force, even _lethal_ force, to prevent one person from harming another unlawfully," Rei said with a shrug. "Sorry, you're not pushing my buttons here. What we did _was_ right. Not a hundred percent, for sure, but on balance - "

"That's _not for you to decide_ , man!" Narukami shouted.

Rei scowled. "Fuck you. A cop on embassy soil, threatening a foreign agent?" Narukami's jaw dropped, and Rei smirked. "Yep. Just signed up for _de Militaire Inlichtingen en Veiligheidsdienst_. Their brand new Department of Psychological Warfare." His expression changed from surprise to horror, and Rei giggled. "The name's provisional. And a joke - it's not an offensive unit, technically once I'm fully trained I'll be in counterintelligence. Specifically, it's the same job as the Kirijo group, just in the Eurozone - keeping an eye out for Metaverse problems."

"Wait, you called her 'Labrys-chan'. She recorded the incident in Shibuya and gave you a copy. Combined with the rumors, it would be enough to prove the existence of the Midnight - no, the Metaverse. And if you give it to the European powers...It'll be an international incident," Narukami said, in that peculiar tone of someone who isn't certain whether to be amazed or terrified. "You're _still_ trying to 'reform society'."

Rei's smirk grew wider. "I will never stop until I'm dead. If I can't do it from within, and I can't use the Metaverse, I'll resort to politics. If that doesn't work...I'll think of something else. Unless you're willing to kill me." Then she turned serious. "The point is, all I have to do is get out of Japan and I'm safe. If you touch me in here, the paperwork will turn up to turn this into a mess that will bury your career."

Narukami pinched the bridge of his nose. "Then why talk at all?"

Rei needed a moment to think about it. "I think…" she began, speaking slowly. "That making sure you know the full story is important. For whatever comes next. Japan needs to _change_ , because what happened to me, what you're trying to _do_ to me, isn't an isolated incident. But I don't want it destroyed the next time some idiot decides to make a deal with a god, either."

"So what are you suggesting?"

Rei took a deep breath. "You were going to interrogate me at the station, before sending me to jail, right? Do it right here, right now. It's not like the official reports would show anything but we're both nuts, right?"

"You'll have to repeat yourself when I catch you," Narukami warned.

Rei smirked. "Narukami, you're not leaving this building until I'm long gone."

The man just shook his head, and opened up a folder. "All right. Your first victim."

"Second." Rei said. "Unless you made the connection with Kamoshida." She shook her head. "No, I'm not reliving that a second time today just to satisfy your curiosity. I'll see if I can get you the transcript, but the short versio - "

Narukami nodded. "I'm familiar with the case, of course. So, that was you as well?" He sighed, obviously disliking having his premises undermined so quickly. "Can I ask why, at least?"

"Why I did it or why I don't want to talk about it again?" Rei snarked. "Wait, no, the answer to both questions is the same. I was _his_ last victim, or near enough."

Narukami shook his head. "I suppose I can't say _he_ didn't have it coming."

"Soooo nice of you."

Narukami took a picture out of the folder. "What led you to target this man?"

* * *

It was a few days after they had divided the spoils from Kamoshida's Pal -

* * *

Narukami hit his head on the table. "I don't need your life story."

"Well, tough." Rei said. "Our hosts do. Do remember, you're here, being allowed to do this now, mostly because it frees up the staff to do their _real_ jobs instead of babysitting me. There will be someone to edit the recording down later, but they wanted to hear everything, so that's what you get to hear."

* * *

It was a few days after they had divided the spoils from Kamoshida's Palace, and Rei had returned to the hospital in Shinjuku. Today found her in Saitou-sensei's main office, hugging her knees to her chest defensively. "I'm…"

"Rei-chan...that was hideous." Saitou shook his head. "And you were caught up in it? Did the police question you?"

"Yeah, but they didn't even bother arresting me. Not like they could pin anything on me - Kamoshida just insisted he was at fault and there was no blackmail involved." Rei squeezed herself even more tightly - that had been far too close.

Saitou just took some notes. "Rei-chan, how did you do it?"

Rei sputtered. "What? What are you talking about?!"

Saitou smiled. "Rei, please. I _am_ a psychologist, psychiatrist, and your therapist of nearly ten years. You haven't normally been violent outside the dojo, but you _rarely_ allow challenges to go completely unanswered. If Kamoshida hadn't held your life in his hands, I would have been in the unenviable position of needing to decide whether to inform the police you are a likely suspect in his murder." Rei's sputtering only increased. "...I'm kidding, of course. That would be a gross ethical violation."

Rei sighed, but said nothing for a very long time. When she looked up, she realized Saitou wasn't giving up. "Sensei….please understand, you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

He smirked. "Try me."

Rei looked her doctor straight in the eyes. "A tengu in disguise showed me a mirror world in Tokyo that reflects the most twisted thoughts and desires of the inhabitants. A magical cat led me through the school that Kamoshida's brain had twisted into a combination of a castle and those magazines everyone says I'm too young for - speculation on that last bit, but I'm pretty confident. I gathered up some friends, and we used magic to make our inner demons outer demons and stole the parts of Kamoshida's brain that were making him act that way in the fake world, thereby changing his behavior in the real world."

"...that makes as much sense as any other explanation for this I've heard," Saitou shrugged. "Admittedly, that's because people do not, in general, suffer attacks of conscience after years of getting away with misdeeds, which is all I've heard speaking with the other doctors at the office coffee machine. I have an alternate theory." Rei gave him a look. "You intentionally allowed yourself to be put in that position to gather evidence."

"That _does_ sound a bit like me before the trial," Rei conceded. "But it wouldn't work now."

Saitou nodded. "I'm not certain whether you would have realized that. However, that's not the point. When you confronted this man with your pictures, what he saw was something he couldn't internally write off anymore, and convinced him to question his other actions."

"What, that he was rapng a 'boy'?" Rei asked sarcastically.

Saitou shook his head. "That might have been part of it, but no. I was referring to the fact that he couldn't pretend you were enjoying it."

Rei sighed. "That works better than my theory on the basis of fitting the established laws of science, yes." She sighed. "Anyway, this isn't what I wanted to talk about."

Saitou nodded. "I suppose not. Your guardian has given blanket approval for any treatment I deem necessary, since the study will pay for it." Rei raised an eyebrow. "A little bit of creative bookkeeping never hurt anyone." Rei just sighed. "So, since I require _informed_ consent…"

"Whatever." Rei said. "I'm not getting any worse on the dysphoria front. I actually managed to shower with my eyes open this morning. Gotta maintain the spare parts until I'm ready to get them reinstalled properly, after all."

The doctor's eyes widened. "Rei that's...very good. I was afraid, especially with your history…"

Rei gritted her teeth. "It isn't _fun_ , sensei, but I can't stay locked up for a year. I've started looking for another school in Tokyo, but unless I get a perfect score on the transfer exam it's looking like it'll be tough going."

"Very well," Saitou said. "If you run into issues, please don't hesitate to come to me. Post-Traumatic stress is very common, and is a disorder you most certainly don't need to deal with."

Rei finally noticed she had curled up and stretched her legs out until she was standing, forcing herself to smile. "Right, Sensei." She sighed. "That reminds me, need to find a temple that will let an out transgirl practice."

"I might know of one."

* * *

With the rest of the afternoon free, Rei made her way to Maihama station. Something bothered her about the place. A faint tug of memory, but she couldn't place it. After walking through the shops at the street level, she gave up and double-checked her passport, wincing. It took several more minutes to find a non-gendered restroom with a mirror to put her hair up, and washed off her limited makeup. Fortunately, she'd been thinking ahead and had worn her loosest pair of pants, but there was nothing to be done about the shirt. Then she made her way to the guest relations booth at the main Tokyo Disney hub. "Excuse me. I'd like to apply for an annual pass."

The man at the booth nodded. "Of course, sir. I'll just need to see your proof of Japanese citizenship." She slid in the passport - it had last been renewed a couple of years ago, and with the changes the hormones had started…"This is not you." He said.

Rei sighed. "It looks like my younger brother or something, right? Hormone imbalance - I assure you that, legally, I am Amamiya Ren."

His eyes narrowed. "Amamiya-san…" His voice was very skeptical at the name. "I'm afraid that if your picture doesn't match your person, it will be very difficult to help you. We would be happy to sell you day passes…"

"I plan to be here frequently," Rei explained patiently. "Please look more carefully, and you will see the passport is slightly older, but still valid. I also have a consent form from my father, pre-signed, here." She pulled out the legal document and presented it. "Downloaded from your web site."

"Sir, I can't accept your passport as vali - " the man was interrupted by a hand on his shoulder, an older man behind suddenly behind him.

Rei blinked, then bowed. "Miss," The man said, smiling. "I remember you from your last visit. Is there a problem?" Rei's eyes widened in surprise, but caught herself from addressing the logical issue with being remembered among the millions of guests at the theme parks. The manager gently pulled the clerk back. "Ichiro, I think you're overdue for your break. I'll handle the customers for awhile."

Rei swallowed. "I was just trying to buy a pass for the year."

"Yes, of course." He smiled and started typing her information into the computer. "Oh...dear, there appears to be an issue with the camera." Rei glowered, but the man chuckled, putting up the closed sign. "Not to worry, I'll have it fixed in about...oh...five minutes?" Rei grinned with sudden understanding, pulling down her hair and pulling out her compact, no longer caring about whether or not anyone saw. In three, she was looking and feeling more like herself, turning to the camera and smiling. "Now...hmm...that's odd, your name's smudged on the passport, and I just can't read such tiny handwriting, my eyes must be going. Amamiya…."

Rei's smile grew wider. "Rei, sir. As in 'beauty,' not 'spirit.'"

* * *

Ann was waiting for Rei near the submarine ride, tapping her foot. "I've been waiting for over half an hour."

Rei blinked. "Where's Shiho-chan?"

Ann tilted her head. "She said she couldn't make it. Something about the train fare…"

Rei adopted a troubled expression for a moment, then shook her head. "Sorry. I wanted to give you two a little time, then I ran into a problem getting a pass."

"Wait, _you_ got an annual pass?" Ann seemed shocked. "You're not a little kid."

Rei blushed. "What? I loved this place when I could get here as a kid, but it's a four hour train trip. Only got to go once a year. The one good thing about having to spend a year in Tokyo was going to be being able to come here after school whenever I want. Not like I can do clubs, so plenty of time for homework." She shrugged. "May not get as much use out of it as I hoped, but…" She trailed off. "Wait, are you saying you _don't_ have one?"

It was Ann's turn to flush. "Well, I got a couple of complementary ones from work, so I gave one to Shiho. But if you wanted to invite anyone else, you'll have to pay for them."

Rei grinned. "Well, except Haru-chan." She shrugged. "I know she's got money."

Ann smirked. "So, interested in her, are you?"

Rei shook her head. "Not...really. I joked about it, but she seemed more interested in Ren."

"...oh." Ann said in understanding. "Have you told her?"

"Ugh," Rei sighed. "I know I _should_ but…You know what, let's forget my messed up life for a bit. What about you? First, what kind of rides do you like?"

Ann held up two front-of-line passes. "How about the big roller coaster across the park?"

"Sounds good." Rei replied with a smile. "Second...well, anything you want to talk about?"

"We're in," Ann said. "Shiho insisted."

Rei smiled. "Great. With Morgana, that makes four. Pretty sure Ryuji-kun's on it too. Not sure about Makoto-chan yet. She'll definitely be with us for exploring, but if we need to do any Palaces…"

Ann suddenly stopped and looked at something. "Oh, hey, we've still got a good while on those tickets…." And she pointed at a shop. Several girls, about eight or nine, were walking out ahead of their parents, giggling. Each one was dressed up in an elaborate dress, with their hair perfectly done up, and even minimal makeup as if from a photo session. "You know, the park's not busy today. I bet we can get a spot."

Rei turned beet red. "Uh...no, actually, we can't. They won't take us anyway…"

"Oh, c'mon," Ann said. "It's Disney. Bet they'll take anyone who pays up…"

Rei shook her head. "It's against the rules."

"What are you talking about?" Ann said again, trying to tug on Rei's wrist. "It'll be fun."

Rei shook her head again. "No, really, we can't…"

"Why not?" Ann asked.

Rei lifted her other hand to point at a sign which read '11 and under only.' "They don't stock our sizes."

Ann chuckled nervously. "Oh. Well, we can take you someplace for adults some other day. I bet you never got to do that one as a kid, huh?"

Rei winced. "N..no. It was the one thing in the park I was never allowed to try."

"Sorry."

* * *

Rei stumbled in through the door to LeBlanc, only barely remembering to lock it behind her, well after eleven o'clock. Morgana was sitting on the rear table. "What the heck kept you?"

"Well, the park closes at eight," Rei explained. "And I had some internet research to do. Stopped by a net cafe."

Morgana tilted his head. "Why not use your phone?"

* * *

Yu tilted his head in almost the same manner. "That's a good question. Why _not_ use your phone?"

"Because," Rei explained patiently "Schools these days insist on the right to check your search history, app installs, social media, and basically everything else. Especially at Shujin. I couldn't be sure that I wouldn't be routinely checked so for anything I didn't want showing up where a teacher could see it I needed an alternative."

"I'm aware of the burner phones," Yu pointed out. "You could have used those."

Rei shrugged. "Phone data's way more expensive than a net cafe, and I was already going to have problems. We eventually got a real hacker on board to secure things, but that wouldn't be for a few months so I had to make do."

Yu nodded. "Okay, so what _did_ you search for?"

Rei chuckled. "Trying to find out about the Metaverse, of course. I didn't find everything that day, but that _was_ probably when I set certain things in motion. Will you allow me to speculate a bit?"

Yu considered that. "As long as it's clear when you do."

* * *

Elsewhere in Japan, a phone rang. A young woman of indeterminate age with long, flowing white hair picked up. "Hello."

The voice on the other end, also a woman, spoke brusquely. "Someone's tripped our search alerts. Unfortunately, we're still locked up here."

"I see. Where we talkin'?" The woman's Kansai dialect was thick, but not completely incomprehensible.

Her boss sighed. "Tokyo. Belly of the beast, I'm afraid. Are you up for it?"

"What's the plan?"

There was another long pause. "Officially, both of you have been decommissioned. There will be a shipment out to a warehouse in Yokohama."

The white-haired girl sighed. "What ain'cha telling me, boss?"

Again, the long pause. "We haven't been able to positively identify the target. We can't risk having both of you out there without knowing for sure you'll be rescued. But we can't act in the area ourselves. You're the only one with the equipment to handle this mission, and your body's been tested and is able to be inactive for long periods. Still, you might miss months or even years before anyone finds you."

The woman thought about it. "Ah can't say I like that...but I can't just sit here 'out of sight' forever."

"I'll make the arrangements, then," the woman on the other end of the line said. "You'll have a bank account and supporting identification. We can arrange anything you'd like, within reason."

"Well, always _did_ wanna be a student council president."

That got a laugh from the other end of the line. "Maybe you'll get your chance after all."

* * *

In Rei's bedroom, a newspaper was slammed down on the card table. Shiho looked at Rei hopefully. "This one's good, right?"

Ryuji and Morgana were fighting over the DVD remote, Morgana wailing something about keeping the Shadows sealed away. Ann was paying more attention to them, trying not to laugh, while Makoto was joining Rei in a skeptical look. "An...import/export management company is opening a second major warehouse in Yokohama. Shiho-chan…" Rei was confused.

Makoto took the initiative. "I fail to see why this would be any of our business."

"Well, I mean, just look at the second paragraph!" Shiho said.

Rei shrugged and glanced it over. "'The original site has had a poor record of worker safety and several deaths.' All right. But it sounds like they're already looking into it. I'm not comfortable just taking over for the police on something this flimsy. After all, it could be that they're building the new warehouse _because_ the old one's got problems."

Shiho shook her head. "My uncle says they're cutting corners on the new building too."

Makoto frowned. "So...this is personal?"

"Yes...no...yes and no…" Shiho finally said weakly.

Rei shook her head. "There isn't even a name, Shiho-chan. Iiiit's….not a bad start." Rei's voice made it clear she was trying to be encouraging. "But without a name, we can't start looking for a Palace. If you want the rest of us to consider a job, you need to do the legwork."

"But!" Shiho's protest was suddenly cut off by Ann's hand on her shoulder. "Wha- Ann?"

Ann nodded. "They're right, Shiho. I'm with you on the idea, but this just isn't enough to go on."

"But...how am I supposed to find this stuff out?" Shiho asked.

Rei frowned, considering. "Talk to your uncle some more, maybe. If they're incorporated, there needs to be a name on the paperwork. You could try looking that up, it's probably public record. Use a net cafe if you can."

"I see…" Shiho looked down at the newspaper. "Sorry for wasting everyone's time by calling a meeting."

Rei shrugged. "Nah, you guys are my buds, we shouldn't _need_ an excuse like business to get together." Her attention turned to Morgana and Ryuji. "Hey, you two, don't damage that. There's no control panel on the TV, I need it to last at least a few months until I can slip a replacement by Boss." She took a deep breath. "Besides, there is something we're going to need to talk about. Morgana, you have the floor."

The cat jumped up on the table and coughed. "Uhm, yes. So, there's stuff I haven't told you yet. You see, there's another side to the Metaverse besides just Palaces. It's called...Mementos.

"Mementos is kind of the base of the Metaverse," he continued. "It's basically the Palace for everyone who doesn't have one of their own. The top levels are in the Tokyo subway system, but when you go into the tunnels it starts going downward. It's also where Shadows start to rise up on their way to making Palaces."

Makoto's jaw dropped. "Are you proposing that we _preemptively_ start tinkering with people before they actually become sick enough to require intervention, Morgana-san?! Didn't you see what happened to Kamoshida-sensei? Absolutely not. We need to be careful with this power, not warp every person who _might_ become a psychopath."

Rei nodded. "Agreed. I want to explore Mementos, of course, but…"

Morgana's ears drooped a little. "It's not like they're not distorted at all, they've just started the spiral. If we can defeat their Shadows before it becomes too dangerous, shouldn't we try?"

Rei sighed. "I'm willing to hear about the process, but do you have an example, or at least a target?"

Morgana nodded. "I checked out the Shujin students' social media. The ones I could find anyway. There's a lot of complaints about a Takanashi Daisuke. Apparently he's beating up weak students and taking their lunch money.

"So?" Makoto frowned. "I can deal with this in my capacity as Student Council President."

Rei bit her lip. "You _can_ , but there's no proof so it might be difficult. We need to take a look at how this works anyway, right?"

Makoto nodded. "I suppose….but we can't just send a calling card like last time."

"Fortunately, it doesn't need to come to that," Morgana said. "A simple email or something left on his social media accounts will do, as long as he doesn't have a Palace."

Ryuji grinned. "Yeah, man. I'm all for checking it out. If we don't have to spend a week on sneaking through the place, so much the better."

Ann and Shiho made definite affirmative noises. Makoto finally sighed. "I surrender. At least as far as checking it out. We can re-evaluate if the Shadow isn't that bad. After all, Rei's Shadow is fairly harmless, at least by comparison with Kamoshida."

* * *

Makoto looked back over her shoulder once she realized she was being followed out of LeBlanc. "Rei-chan, I don't think - "

Rei shook her head. "No business, I promise."

Makoto was skeptical. "I see...then why ar - "

"Makoto-chan, why didn't you come to Disney?"

Makoto flushed heavily. "Eh...well, because I was studying and - "

Rei shook her head. "It's not that I didn't have fun with just Ann-chan. But I kinda wanted everybody there. I wasn't thinking about ticket prices, so I know why Shiho and Ryuji didn't make it. Buuuut…." She turned a critical eye over Makoto. "You have enough for a fresh, to-code uniform to wear every day to school. Two weeks worth, unless I miss my guess. You also have time to hand-prepare meals. I'm _pretty_ sure Ryuji-kun's doing some kind of part-time job, though don't ask me who's hiring him. Off-books. One of the reasons Ryuji doesn't wear his uniform? I'm betting he doesn't have enough for a full set and the shirts are wearing thin. He's just using the 'gone Yankee' thing as an excuse."

Makoto raised an eyebrow. "And Shiho-chan?"

"Still working on that one. But the point is, I'm _sure_ they don't have money to throw around and I was kinda insensitive." Rei took a deep breath. " _You_ don't have that problem. If you'd protested that was it, I'd have believed you, but you reached for the 'homework' excuse. So. . . "

Makoto actually blushed. "I was . . . trying to discourage you from wasting time when you could be studying to improve your cover."

Rei snorted. "I'm going to fail civics. Hard. Don't care, I'll ace the university exams no matter how much the bastard tries to twist things." At Makoto's skeptical look, she sighed. "He's made it perfectly clear to me that as long as I'm a 'boy who wants to wear dresses', I'll never be an acceptable citizen and his grading will reflect that."

Makoto was trying to pick her jaw up off the ground "Still, that's - "

Rei shook her head. "A subject for another time. Kabayokawa has a Palace, we can talk about dealing with him after we get a few more under our belts." She held up a hand. "The point is, I'm studying to be a doctor and have the grades to reflect it. Which you should already know, since you have access to my records and would have checked as part of your sabotage." Makoto made a strangled sound. "Makoto-chan, you're stalling. You didn't want to go to Disneyland. If it's personal, that's _fine_ but I'd rather know so I won't try to ask you again."

"I just...don't think I'd have fun." Makoto finally admitted.

Rei tilted her head. "Why not?"

"Well…" Makoto flushed as Rei leaned in closer, looking up at her with a tilted head. "I mean, it's for little kids, right?"

Rei grinned. "Yeah, there's some of that, but have you ever been?"

Makoto gulped. "Not for years. Not since…"

Rei shrugged, but didn't push. "If you don't _want_ to tell me it's fine. Whenever you're ready." She stretched out. "Of course, if I can't get you into Disney willingly, we're going to have to get Ryuji-kun into a nice restaurant for our celebration."

Makoto actually nodded. "Let's do that."

* * *

The teens had found an out-of-the-way corner of the main train station in Shibuya. Morgana jumped out of Rei's bag and looked up at them. "Okay, so, this is pretty simple. Once we've sent notes to the Mementos targets, their Shadows should ping the Metaverse Navigators on your phones. I can already sense our target, so open up the navi and check."

Ryuji was quickest on his phone. "Fer real?! And you sent the message?"

"Yep."

Makoto frowned. "Does it go away?"

Morgana somehow managed to give a feline shrug. "Not for a few weeks at least. Months at the outside. Palaces are self-sustaining, so the defenses build up and hide the Treasure quickly, but without one the Shadows have to defend their Treasures on their own. And they're still paranoid. This _might_ speed up forming the Palace, but it's the only way to check whether it's going to happen."

Rei sighed. "You can't measure speed without changing direction, and you can't measure direction without changing speed."

"Exactly," Morgana replied.

Ryuji frowned. "I dunno, this is all over my head. Can't you just, like, look?"

Rei waved it off. "If you haven't covered it in physics, I'll tutor you later. It's just an analogy anyway."

Ann frowned. "This means we need to be even more careful in the future, but I guess with a bully…"

"Right." Morgana took control of the conversation again. "I already told Rei and Makoto this part, but if you need to get to Mementos, just type it into the Nav without any other data."

Rei grinned. "Actually, here's something I want to try first." She pulled it up. "Mementos. Shinjuku."

The Navigator pinged. "Now entering Mementos. Please follow directions to your destination." The world shifted around them as Rei's phone shifted to a typical GPS screen in red and black.

"Cancel navigation," Rei prompted, after looking at the map. "...well, it _works_ but I think it'd be faster to walk than try to take _that_ train."

Shiho tilted her head. "What's wrong with it?"

Rei shrugged. "It looks like all the trains go to the same place, but it's not labeled. I'm guessing it's a train station, but if you have to go all that way down it's not worth it. Anyway, let's head down to the platform…"

They followed Morgana, but there was only one platform with any access to the station, which dead-ended there. They could look across to see countless people on the opposite platform, which appeared to be a proper part of the loop that went through the station in the real world. The trains went through like clockwork, every thirty seconds, picking up as many people as would fit. But there were always more. Ryuji tilted his head. "Where are all of _them_ going?"

"The station at the bottom?" Ann asked.

Makoto blew out some air in a soft breath. "Must be. But this isn't what we're here for. Where's our train?"

Rei looked down the dark tunnel. "...I think these are the maintenance tunnels. No regular service."

"Ah, man!" Ryuji groaned. "This place is _huuuuuuge!_ How are we supposed to get around?"

Morgana smirked. "Looks like it's time for me to show off another of my many talents." Now in his anthropomorphic form, Mograna was standing on his hind legs. He leaped, did a backflip...and when he landed, he had grown. The van was sleek, black just like his coat, and his blue eyes created headlights that lit up the darkness. "Tah-da!"

"...Never was a big fan of Miyazaki," Rei quipped. "But I'll take it."

They piled in, Makoto automatically sitting behind the wheel. "Morgana, can you take the wheel?" she asked.

Morgana shrugged. "I can do simple stuff," he said "But I _do_ need a driver."

* * *

Once they passed over the threshold, the Thieves' masks appeared, followed quickly by their outfits. The endless tunnels were dark, lit only by red maintenance lighting. Every so often the van passed a patch of inky blackness on the walls, with long tendrils that looked like they might lash out at the vehicle if disturbed, but nothing ever happened. A broken cable cross the tracks at one point, which were not the greatest terrain for a wheeled vehicle. By the time they reached the next station, everyone was ready for a quick break.

The Shadows stalking them all the way through did not help, but Joker still insisted on stopping to pick up every bit of copper and silver along the way, and check all the boxes. Nothing gave them any real trouble.

Until they reached the second platform. The stairs further down had more of the ominous red lighting, but this time it was also pulsing like a heartbeat. Joker held up her hand to signal a stop, somewhat unnecessarily. She tilted her head, then let the Sight take over her senses.

All she heard was crying. With a frown of puzzlement, she started to creep forward, sticking to what little cover there was. At the far end of the lower platform, a wall covered in runes blocked what would be the path to the stairs up. And right in front of it was a Shujin student, wearing the boys' summer uniform. He was hunched over, hugging his knees and crying.

Unfortunately, with a full six of them, there was no way to get down the stairway without being seen or heard. He stood up, turning his back to them. "You're those Phantom Thieves, right? Well, I didn't do anything wrong. You have no right to do anything to me."

Joker stood up. "That's not the way we've heard it. You're no better than Kamoshida."

"How _dare_ you!?" the student shouted back. "It's _their fault!_ If they don't want to be bullied, they should stand up for themselves!"

Panther growled. "'She wanted it'."

Angel picked up on where Panther was going. "'If they want to be on the team, they're willing to take a little abuse.'"

Skull, surprising Joker, actually grabbed onto the plot too. "Kamoshida made all the same excuses. You're just not as much of a big shot."

The boy turned around, his eyes glowing red. "Don't you dare gang up on me too! You're just a gang! You don't know anything! I'll do what I want!"

Joker glanced at Queen. She had not yet cast her vote, after all. Reluctantly, Queen gave a nod.

Takanashi's Shadow _exploded_ , blinding the Thieves momentarily. When the room cleared, the high school student was gone. In its' place was a snowman, about half his height. The Shadow bounced around and cackled with the voice of a young boy. It wore a sweater hat with fake animal ears, and its' expression looked like a coal drawing on the snow that shifted as its' mood changed. The face even had cute little fangs. Although at that moment it still looked outraged.

Before any of them could react, the Shadow shot across the platform straight into Joker's stomach. She fell flat onto her rear, and her eyes went wide as she realized it was about to hit her there again, and braced herself.

It. Hurt. Further, she felt all her strength drain out of her and she rolled to one side. _That's so weird…_ she thought. _It's like . . . like I haven't eaten in a week…_

When Joker didn't rise, Panther twirled. " **CARMEN!** " The answering flames from Panther's Persona did little more than annoy it. Their eyes met.

Suddenly, Panther couldn't feel her Phantom Thief outfit. She was naked, and Kamoshida was there in front of her, his chest bare. The sadistic gym teacher reached toward her. It was only a moment, but she screamed and backed away. Angel stepped between them, her spear out front and charging. She felt a glimmer of the same fear, but her spear rammed true.

"You don't understand!" The Shadow skipped away from Angel. His sights settled on Morgana, but Queen rode between them and got knocked off Johanna for her trouble. Whatever it was that the Shadow had done to Joker, it bounced up to try to do it again.

Joker put three rounds into it from her place on the ground. "I don't...don't need my strength...to use this…" She got up to her knees, keeping the gun trained on the Shadow.

It flickered and vanished again. Joker screamed "Form up! Circle! Back to back!" She reached into her pocket for one of her sweets while the others made their way to her.

She was too slow. The Shadow stole her food right out of her hand and devoured it. "Hey!" But it had gone again. "What's going on?!"

"It's . . . " Queen got into position next to Joker, her revolver drawn. "Why is it going after your food?"

Morgana was next. "Shadows reflect the desires of the real person….this guy must be starving all the time."

"That doesn't excuse beating up other students," Queen said. "Or even explain it on its' own, actually."

Skull took up his own spot opposite Queen. "Yeah, well, some kids don't got it that easy. I see how it is now. This guy ain't the only bully, he's just the fall guy."

Panther and Angel completed the circle. "And we fell for it," Panther said with a slight groan.

Angel shook her head. "Well, we'd never have gotten anywhere without checking. Let's finish this."

Joker brought her dagger up, looking around. "Does anyone see him?"

No one responded for a moment. "Did he run?" Morgana asked, his guard momentarily lowered. That was when the Shadow struck, bouncing Morgana out of the circle between Angel and Skull, and ending up in the middle. Joker froze, her head slowly turning around over her shoulder to see the snow-creature about to attack Queen. She twisted, trying desperately to put herself in the creature's path.

The entire platform erupted with black clouds. They weren't irritating, like smoke, but heavily oppressive. Even worse, they heralded a wave of pressure that threw the Phantom Thieves apart, sending Queen and Joker into the wall blocking their progress while scattering the others. Morgana nearly slid off the platform entirely. When the clouds vanished, someone new had appeared on the platform.

He was tall, taller than Skull, and dressed in a striped bodysuit that alternated black and purple stripes. His entire head was covered in something not unlike a motorcycle mask, and in his hand was a long, serrated blade. Joker was shocked. A weapon like that wouldn't cut cleanly. It wasn't designed to kill opponents, but to inflict screaming agony on victims.

And the blade was poised to strike down the Shadow. Joker didn't hesitate. There wasn't enough time to cover the intervening distance on foot. She ripped off her mask, and Adler appeared, parrying the strike of the black-masked man with her own stiletto heels.

The man looked directly at Joker. "A second ago this pathetic thing was going to kill your friend there." His voice was higher pitched than she was expecting, but there was an edge to it. She realized he was disguising it, but not too well. If it had been anyone she knew, she might have put two and two together - she moved in circles where altering the tone and pitch of your voice was common. She guessed he was lowering it to sound more menacing, but it wasn't _really_ necessary. No one sane used a sword like that.

"It's…" Joker took a breath. "He's still a person. We weren't trying to kill him."

The man...no, Joker decided, the boy tilted his head. "You must be new at this. Come on, then. If you think you're strong enough."

Joker blinked, Adler vanishing. "No offense, but I don't see what I have to prove to you."

"Nothing." The boy admitted. "But I can't let you get in my way, either. I've come too far just to have it screwed up by a bunch of naive kids."

Joker refrained from pointing out that the boy was almost certainly a kid too. She moved on Black Mask, trying a few experimental slashes with her back-held dagger.

And the boy just vanished away from each strike. _What the?!_ Joker didn't lower her guard, but it did no good. Black Mask was just too good at taking advantage of the rules of the Metaverse. Joker knew she was the _better_ fighter, but that didn't mean a damn thing when she was standing still compared to his speed. In desperation she summoned Adler again, trying to use some of her new powers to cloud Black Mask's mind.

A zebra-striped Persona appeared, restraining Adler with a hand on her wrist. It was humanoid, with twin ponytails that writhed like snakes and a sword strapped to its' back. A squeeze on Adler's wrist, and Joker screamed as the pain was echoed in her own. Black Mask grinned in delight. "Useless."

He immediately regretted that. While he was distracted with Joker, Queen had snuck up behind him and put a gun to the back of his head. The audible click of the safety coming off started the intruder turning around, but Skull slammed into him from one side in a shoulder tackle with a roar. While he was disoriented, Panther and Carmen spun about, flames appearing from below to hedge him in. "USELESS!" he roared again, and his own Persona looked like it was about to do something.

Angel, however, had gotten a lift to the ceiling from Norea, and was now dropping onto Black Mask's head with a scream of triumph, the spear pointing downward. The scream was a mistake, and the boy looked up to defend.

And then the Shadow leaped through the flames, and hit the interloper in the stomach before bounding away again. Doubled over, Black Mask pulled out a small spherical object and threw it at the ground. Angel slammed into the smoke a second later.

When it cleared, Black Mask was gone. Joker fell back to her knees, her weakness fully returning. Until she suddenly saw her strawberry tart right in front of her eyes again. She looked up in surprise at the Shadow looking her in the eyes. "...I don't want it anymore." He said. "...we're even, right?"

"... _we_ are." Joker said slowly. "But you know you can't keep doing this to everyone else, right?"

The Shadow flinched. "But...if I don't, he'll keep hurting me. Maybe even worse."

"...let us worry about that." Joker said. "Who's hurting _you?_ "

The Shadow, which Joker now knew to be a Jack Frost, whimpered. "You promise? It's Yoshimori Sakoda."

Joker's mask came off, and Rei smiled. "I promise. I _hate_ bullies." She gave the Shadow a hug, as it slowly vanished. When it was gone, she stood up. "...well, that went well." She put her mask back on, and looked around. Where there had been a wall, now there were more stairs down. "...want to call it here for the day?"

No one disagreed.

* * *

The next morning, just outside Shujin, Rei saw a rather familiar face. Seeing Takanashi look around nervously, she stopped at the vending machines outside and feigned indecision. It was nonsense, of course. Her thermos had ambrosia in it, why would she need to drink anything else?

The other boy paced back and forth, when a third year snuck up on Takanashi and spun him into the wall. "Where's my money?"

"I'm done with you, Sakoda!" Takanashi shouted back. "I'm not beating up anybody else."

'Sakoda' turned beet red. He raised up his arm to strike at the smaller boy. "Guess I'll just have to take it out of your wallet instead." When he tried to swing, he suddenly found his wrist trapped against the wall. "What the -!?"

Rei dropped her voice to the 'Ren' register, but kept it as even as she could. "Sakoda-san, was that your name?" Both bullies went white as a sheet. "I believe you are going to go to class and leave your fellow students alone."

Sakoda recovered quickly. "I'll get you kicked out for assault, you freak."

Rei gave him a vicious smile. "Actually, I will not. Niijima-san."

Makoto stepped out from behind the vending machines, waggling her cell phone. "Thank you for your assistance, Amamiya-san. Now, please release him. This is the limit of what we can do as students."

"Of course, Niijima-san." Rei smiled and let go. "If you have any further need of a thug, I would be happy to substitute."

" _Amamiya,_ " Makoto scolded. "The proper term would be 'mercenary.'"

Rei ran with it. "Mercenaries are compensated well for their work. I'm only being paid in good will." Sakoda picked that moment, showing terrible judgment to take another swing at Rei, who ducked easily. "Vigilante, perhaps? I like the ring of that."

Makoto nodded. "And now you have attacked a student who was no longer threatening you, Sakoda. Please do not dig yourself in further. If I become aware that there are any other witnesses, there will be consequences." He ran. She smiled and turned back to Rei. "'Vigilante' is acceptable. I'll be sure to get a spotlight on the roof with a giant bat."

Rei turned to Takanashi and bowed. "I apologize. You are unhurt?"

The boy stared at her, trying to work his jaw. "You...why did you save me?"

Rei shrugged. "Why would I not?"


	13. Chapter 12

"Amamiya…" Yu was rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Using the Metaverse on a school bully? Don't you think that's overkill?"

Rei sighed. "In hindsight? Overkill, no, but a bit petty compared to what could potentially be accomplished. Still, consider this. Takanashi had five or so first years he liked to go after, and two second years. I also understand that there were two former targets among the second-year students who were forced to drop out. So, that was seven people who were underperforming at school, and two more whose lives were _definitely_ completely ruined. And if something like that was happening to adults - "

"It would be assault," Yu cut her off. "But they're not adults." Rei looked at him levelly. "The school was supposed to . . . " he trailed off, seeing only the slightest twitch in Rei's eyes. "...it was still _wrong_ , Amamiya!"

"Why?"

Yu snarled. "You _broke the law._ "

Rei shook her head. "We've been over this. No such law existed."

"What about assault? By your own admission, and even not in the Metaverse." Yu leaned back.

Rei smirked. "The school should have taken care of it."

Yu deflated at that for a moment, then looked through his notes. "I don't buy it. Shujin can't have bee - "

"We will _get to_ Kabayokawa," Rei said. "Even if he's not in that folder of yours. I don't think I can convince you, but you want to understand and he's more important to this mess than you realize right now." She sighed. "But, for now, you clearly need to understand something. Shujin was not a place intended to nurture bright intellects. It wasn't even intended to do the bare minimum. I'd have been better off in my country school, taking the standard curriculum and cramming via internet schools at night like I had been. But hey, I'm gonna be a great general, not the world's most preeminent brain surgeon." She snapped to full attention. " _Kennis is macht, karakter is meer_!"

Yu rolled his eyes. "Your accent is terrible."

Rei sat back down and crossed her legs on the table, much to Yu's visible discomfort. " _The point is_ , there was only one criteria at Shujin at that time for official punishment. If you came to the notice of the authority figures. Who came in with bruises every day and turned in poor test scores? I'll give you a hint. It wasn't Takanashi." Yu didn't answer. " _That_ is what the Phantom Thieves took as our mandate. The last resort. For the people all the systems and all the rules had failed. So that those who remained would have the chance to do better."

Yu shook his head. "Let's move on…"

* * *

The next day, Rei returned to Maihama station, outside the theme park, and searched around. "C'mon, tell me it's still here…"

It wasn't. She had been chasing down a vague memory, of the last trip her family had taken down here. Even on a doctor's salary, it made little sense to spend _all_ of their money in the parks.

But the store wasn't there. She had no idea how long it had been gone, but certainly long enough to have faded from the general cognition of the public. There were two chain ice cream stores, and a number of other cheap food options catering to the cost-conscious parkgoer, but all of the small-time shops had apparently been pushed out years ago. Finally, desperate, she decided to try anyway, bringing up the Nav's voice search function. "..." She took a deep breath. "Amamiya Rei."

"Match found."

Morgana peeked out from her pack. "Is that why we came here? To find out more about your Shadow?"

Rei nodded. "I always loved this place when I was a little kid. There was one shop in particular...but I can't _remember_."

Morgana winced. "Okay, Rei. Deep breath." She did. "What _do_ you remember?"

Rei sighed. "I remember that...there was a place inside Disney selling some special ice cream. The lines were way too long. So, after the fireworks show, there was a place selling ice cream that we went outside." She smiled in fond memory. "It wasn't in a character shape or anything, but it was the sweetest strawberry ice cream I've ever had. I'm sure it was here."

Morgana sniffed the air. "Sorry, I'm just smelling the chain shops."

"I...I know." Rei said, sighing. "And I don't remember."

Morgana was skeptical. "You think your Palace is in that ice cream shop?"

Rei had to think about that one. "There _has_ to be a reason it's coming to mind. But we have to find her anyway."

"So you're reasonably sure it's here?" Morgana thought about it for a moment...and then the world shifted around them. The structure of the station was identical, but suddenly Rei recognized _everything._ All of the old places were back, including the one she had been looking for. She raced off, Morgana hot on her heels, and stepped through the doors.

Everything was pink. _Everything._ The seats, the walls, the floor. Everything except the hundreds of tubs of ice cream behind the counter. There was also a serving bar, with rotating seats. Pink. The rest of the restaurant had cheap, easily-replacable plastic furniture. In pink.

Morgana gave Rei a look. "You're sure you liked this place for the ice cream?"

"Well, yes." Rei said, blushing. "I think my memory's exaggerating, but this place _did_ make its' own stuff."

 **"And when you don't know where to go next, you retreat into nostalgia,"** Rei's Shadow said. Against all the logic of the multiverse, she wasn't dressed as a server behind the counter, but had suddenly appeared at the bar with a large, bright green float. Rei took a seat next to her, and Morgana jumped up onto the bar. **"Fancy seeing you here, Stranger."**

Rei shook her head. "If we're the same person, why can't I remember your run-in with Black Mask? Or. . . anything you did, actually."

The Shadow took a sip, seeming to consider it. **"Well...the dramatics aside, it's not** _ **totally**_ **accurate to say we're the same person."**

Morgana jumped in. "A Shadow is really more of a projection. Unless you take it into yourself as a Persona, you're still separate entities."

 **"Probably the closest you're going to come to understanding this. The point is, if you keep going on this way, we die."** Rei's Shadow said to her. **"That Black Mask kid took all of you out with practically no effort. And no, I wasn't there. I** _ **do**_ **know what you do, just not in real time. By the time I could have even tried to help, you were...well, asleep, probably."**

Rei shook her head. "So help now. What do you know?"

The Shadow seemed to consider this for a long time. A float drink identical to the one the Shadow was sipping appeared next to Rei, and a bowl of ice cream for Morgana. Rei sipped hers, and found it a pleasant melon soda with kiwi ice cream. After another few sips, the Shadow finally came to a decision and spoke. **"I'll tell you. But first, I'm going to try to talk you out of using the information. Rei, I need to emphasize that we're seriously out of our league here. There are three Persona users in the city already, outside our little group. One arrived in the last week. Black Mask is the** _ **weakest**_ **of them, as near as I can tell. The strongest may as well be a deity on this side of reality."** Rei just shook her head at her Shadow's description. **"Yes, fighting smarter might work, but there may not be** _ **enough**_ **smart in the universe to beat out that kind of power difference. The best I can say is that the others haven't noticed us yet, but if you keep going down this path** _ **they will.**_ **"**

Rei raised an eyebrow. "What happened to me being the great Trickster, the rebel who wants to tear down society?"

The Shadow looked at her for a really long time. **"Normally, this is the part where I break your brain into a million pieces by making you confront your denial. Then I take over your mind and we go on a rampage of indulging our most secret desires until the cops come."** Rei raised an eyebrow. **"But I wasn't born like most other independent Shadows. Things...happened the day you came to Tokyo. Things you aren't aware of, and I see no reason to tell you yet. But the seeds were planted the day you came to this shop."** She shrugged helplessly. **"I'll set up here, for now. There may be things in the Metaverse that I can use to create tools to amplify your power. Bring them here, and I'll see what I can do."** She smiled. **"In the meantime, I ask that you reflect on what actually brought you to this point. Oh, I won't argue that Adler wasn't part of us too, but** _ **she**_ **wants revenge. The wrath of the oppressed, the scorned, risen up to smite our foes, yadda yadda yadda."** The Shadow actually smiled. **"All that's worthwhile, yes, yes, whatever."**

There was a long pause. **"Okay, you're not convinced, fine. Black Mask seems to be a mercenary of some kind. He's going around killing Shadows attached to people of some importance, for the most part."**

"What about the subway driver?" Rei pointed out.

The Shadow smiled. **"He was very important to** _ **you**_ **when he nearly ran you over. That's the game. He's using the Metaverse to affect change in the real world, just like your friends want to do. The difference is...well, nothing."**

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Rei and Morgana shouted at the same time.

Rei's Shadow smirked. **"When you can answer that, you'll be a step closer to knowing what** _ **I**_ **want. Enjoy the ice cream, it's conceptual anyway. No calories from imaginary food."**

* * *

"What kept you?" Ryuji asked as Rei came jogging up the Shibuya alleyway.

Rei panted slightly. "Really good ice cream."

Ryuji quirked his lips. "Y'know, you really shouldn't eat all that junk food." Rei pouted. "Well, I mean, you're worse than Ann-chan and I don't know how _she_ does it."

Rei sighed. "I know. I'm actually really jealous. I jog practically everywhere I can and keep up practicing my _kata_ and I _still_ have to watch the snacks." She took a deep breath, and looked around. There wasn't much here - a bar on one side of the narrow alleyway, and a gym on the other. She looked at that with some interest. Boxing ring, practice dummies...she glanced back at Ryuji. "Is this a dojo?"

"Naw. I know you can't do that this year, but I figured you'd want _somewhere_ to go."

Rei thought about that for half a second, then grinned. "Yeah, this'll be really helpful. Just wish you'd told me so I could bring my workout clothes."

Ryuji slammed his forehead into the palm of his hand. "Right, sorry. I forgot you'd have a problem with the change rooms."

Rei smiled. "Honestly, I'm _happy_ you forgot." Ryuji looked at her surprised. "I mean, it's not _perfect_ but I'd rather you think I'm a girl than . . . y'know."

Ryuji scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I get where you're coming from."

"Look." Rei said firmly. "Ninety five percent of the time, it shouldn't matter at all. The other five percent, it's rightly _my_ problem. Like...do you mind if I bring up the leg?"

Ryuji shook his head. "A little, but you're just making a point, right?"

Rei nodded. "Yeah. It's kinda like that. Even back when it was fresh, I'm guessing after the first few days you could get around most places just fine. You had to use the elevator to the station for a bit, but that was your problem. Same here, except it comes up less. So, next time I want to come here I'll figure it out."

"Gotcha." Ryuji grinned. "Still, it'll be nice to have someone to train with."

"Getting back into track?" Rei asked.

Ryuji frowned. "I...don't think so. I just like running."

Rei nodded. "Let's head back to my place. I'll help you out with your stretches and we can get some studying in." She giggled at the pained look on her friend's face. "Makoto-chan would kill me if I let you get away without it. It's part of the plan to keep Principal Moron off my back."

"How does my studying work with that?" Ryuji asked, skeptically.

Rei grinned. "Makoto's 'reforming' me. That means I need to do everything good students do, and that's going to include helping bring _your_ grades up."

"Man, I thought this Phantom Thief stuff would be awesome."

Rei winced. "Not so loud." She sighed. "Anyway, it's turning out to be like school. Even if you like it, there's a lotta boring parts. So, let's get on with the boring parts. Like establishing cover stories."

* * *

A short stretching session turned into Rei tutoring Ryuji in English, before he had to head home. Morgana had kept quiet during the whole thing, but when Ryuji was gone he jumped on the table. "I don't know what you see in him."

Rei raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I mean…" Morgana paced around. "He's kind of an idiot."

Rei nodded. "Kind of. He's a friend, though. That's all that matters."

Morgana seemed to ponder that. "Anyway, I promised to teach you about thief tools."

"You mean like your lockpicks and stuff?" Rei instantly perked up. She looked around, and noticed her writing desk had some space. "Let's store the stuff in there for now." It took a few minutes of sorting. "Okay, so I'm guessing this is part cognition again."

"Yep," Morgana said with a confirming nod. "But you've got to have something real to work from. This is about a third a way of focusing your innate powers, one third trickery, and one third real-world skill and chemistry. But it's way less stressing than leaning on your Persona."

"Got it. So, what have you got for me?" Rei said.

Morgana opened up the trunk and pulled out some simple padlocks. Then he picked out some paperclips with his mouth. "Let's start with the basics of lockpicking. You'll need to get the shape as good as you can while focusing." Rei looked at it skeptically, but concluded that the paperclips looked like they would fit in the lock, so she listened to Morgana's advice, using a pair of pliers. After awhile, it became almost meditative, and in the end she had two pieces of metal that almost looked like serious picks. She also had about a dozen snapped paperclips. "And now those are imbued with your cognition."

Rei blinked, and realized all of the padlocks were open. "Neat!"

Morgana grinned. "Store them somewhere safe. They're only good for one use in the Metaverse, then the power you put into them will be expended."

"...that almost makes sense," Rei conceded, before stretching and yawning. "Right. Another day coming up tomorrow. Let's get some shut-eye."

* * *

Rei found herself hovering on the platform on the way to school the next morning. It was early, a bit before the school rush. She sighed, and set Morgana's bag down. "Stay there," she whispered. "I may as well jog the platform for a bit until someone gets here."

Without waiting for an answer, she took off, figuring that anyone who tried to steal Morgana would be in for. . . well, an angry cat determined to murder them, actually. That would be enough deterrent. She also didn't quite get out of sight of it, and she frequently peeked over her shoulder to make sure it was still there.

Which was why she didn't see the boy until she had almost crashed into him. "Whoa!"

He was _tall._ That was the first thing Rei noticed. She looked up at him, into his rather shaggy hair and eyes such a vivid brown they were almost red. He smiled at her and gently took a step back. "I can't imagine where you might be going in such a rush this early in the morning."

Rei felt her cheeks heat slightly. "I wasn't - " Then she remembered she was supposed to be 'Ren' and lowered her voice. "I was just taking advantage of the empty platform."

A laugh was her response. "Really? It would be a shame if such a cute girl felt she needed to do so much extra work."

Rei choked. "What?!"

The boy raised an eyebrow. "Was it supposed to be a secret? Your hair is pinned up, but I suspect it would look quite feminine let down. Your running gait is a bit off as well, and…" He reached out and tapped at her throat with a black-gloved hand suddenly, making Rei jump back. "Few boys our age have so little development there." Then he paused. "Oh, and of course I checked your record as part of the Kamoshida investigation." Rei spluttered for several moments. "Oh, where are my manners?" He bowed, and Rei's attention was drawn to the tan peacoat over his uniform, which had black slacks. "My name is Goro Akechi."

"Y..wha…" Rei pulled her jaw up. "How do you have access to police records? Isn't this an invasion of privacy?"

"Amamiya-san," Akechi said seriously. "I assure you, I'm a licensed consultant. I am allowed to pursue cases that catch my fancy, sometimes. After all, a man confesses to such heinous crimes out of the blue and insists no one coerced him? It seemed odd." He shrugged. "Your profile stuck out for much different reasons, so of course I remembered it." He smiled. "By way of apology, how about coffee?"

Rei blushed but shook her head. "I don't drink any coffee but my guardian's. Nothing personal, it's just everything else is battery acid by comparison."

Akechi laughed. "I'll have to try it, if it would make someone swear off any other brewer in the city…"

Rei blushed, then, reluctantly, pulled a thermos out of her book bag, removed the cup, and poured him a few mouthfuls worth. Akechi's eyes quirked in surprise. "Black?"

"Boss' coffee should never touch milk or sugar," Rei replied solemnly, as though reciting an ancient sutra. "A sweet on the side is acceptable."

Akechi raised the other eyebrow as he sipped at it. "Oh. Yes, I quite see your point. Now, I believe you still had some concern about my credentials." He pulled a small business card from a holder in his pocket.

Rei took it, bowing formally, and read it.

 _Akechi Consulting  
_ _Private Investigations_

At one corner was the National Police Bureau's official seal. Rei considered it for a moment, then sighed. "Akechi-san, I really don't want to talk about Kamoshida."

"Then you were involved?" He asked, gently. "I can reason out the details. There was no shortage of victims."

Rei swallowed. "If that's the case, why are you asking me?"

"I wasn't," Akechi said gently. "I simply remembered you and thought I might like to get to know you better."

Rei's eyes narrowed. "Okay, up front, you know I'm a transgirl, not a girl who's wearing the boy's uniform for some stupid anime reason, right?"

"Quite," Akechi confirmed. "I'm studying for college entrance exams, so anything like what you're thinking would have to wait."

Rei nodded, relaxing only slightly. "Also, how did you find me?"

Akechi smirked. "There's no point in being coy. I had access to your records. I knew you had to come this way to get to school, and because of my work with the police I could afford to make it to my own late. You would have rejected any other attempt to get in touch with you."

Rei nodded. "Okaaay. A little creepy." Akechi looked stricken. "Not like that, just. . . in the future, maybe don't introduce yourself to a girl this way?"

* * *

"Akechi? _The_ Akechi?" Ann asked Rei. At lunch, Rei had signaled them to follow her to the roof for some privacy. Fortunately, Haru didn't typically tend her plants until after school, although Rei was doing a little work on them while they talked " _Seriously_?"

Shiho sighed. "Heeere we go."

Rei blushed. "Is he famous or something?"

Ann nodded rapidly. "He's solved a whole bunch of cases for the police, and he goes on talk shows all the time and stuff."

Rei raised an eyebrow. "You're a fan?"

"Well, duh."

Rei turned her attention to Shiho. "What's your take?"

"I'm not sure," Shiho said. Ann gave her a slightly annoyed look. "It's not just because I don't like boys, Ann. Something seems a little fishy about it to me."

Rei blinked. "Wait, this reminds me of something...Shirota...no...Shiro…"

"Shirogane Naoto," Shiho said. "The Detective Prince."

Rei's eyes widened. "OH! I can't believe I forgot about _that._ I was so disappointed."

The look on Rei's face was so heartbroken Shiho reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "Yeah, well, the point is, Shirogane trained at it from a really young age and was along on cases with her grandfather. How'd Akechi get so good?"

"Makoto-chan could do it," Rei said. Both of them looked at her. "Well, she _could._ The only problem is that she would need access. Find out how Akechi-kun got access, we have the answer if we presume he's equally intelligent."

Shiho nodded. "Okay. So, I was gonna call a mee. . . " she trailed off, looking at Rei's expression. ". . . wait, seriously, don't tell me you said yes."

Rei blushed even harder than she had been already.

* * *

"A _date_ with a _police detective?_ " Makoto was staring at Rei, who had just emerged from the handicapped restroom at Shibuya station. Ryuji was with her, holding Morgana's bag.

Rei shook her head. "Just a consultant."

Makoto leaned in closer. "Is that _makeup_?"

"Pain in the butt," Rei replied. "I wear it every day. It makes me look that much more different than Ren, or I wouldn't bother."

"Look," Rei said, annoyed. "We shouldn't really do meetings until after the cafe's closed anyway. I'm not blowing off the job or anything. Go ahead and tell Shiho we're on. I'll talk to Akechi-kun and beg off spending the evening with him, but I want to get a read on this."

There was a long pause, then a sigh. "Rei-chan, I'm just a little worried. You don't strike me as a person who takes unnecessary risks…"

Ryuji grinned, suddenly interjecting. "Hey, I think it's great." Both girls stopped to stare at him. "Well, not like I know what I'm talking about when it comes to 'hot boys' but Rei-chan plays for both teams, right?"

Rei grinned. "You remembered that?"

"Heck yeah." Ryuji shrugged. "Kinda hard to forget. Point is, you maybe got a boyfriend, right? Worst case, he's digging for info on what happened, and you won't say anything. Why not?"

Makoto's jaw had dropped open. "That was. . . surprisingly insightful."

"What's that mean?"

Rei giggled. "Ryuji-kun got it right. If he's digging into us, we need to know. If not. . . well, when am _I_ going to get another chance to go on a date with a genuine celebrity? Either way, this is too good to pass up. And we _know_ he doesn't have proof, so it can't be an actual trap. No matter what, we win."

* * *

"Ah, Ren-chan," Akechi waved her over to the wooden booth. It wasn't LeBlanc, but rather a cafe near Ueno park, making it almost easy to find. That it was some distance away from Aoyama-Ichitome, in the opposite direction from Shibuya, and was thus somewhat unlikely to attract Shujin students, helped.

Which was why Rei purposely refrained from snarling. "Look, Akechi-kun…" she instead said slowly. "You obviously haven't known you were interacting with transgender people very often. I can see you're trying to be nice and using proper honorifics, but names are important too. Using our legal names, even if they might be unisex...it's called 'deadnaming' and is generally rude if we've decided on a true name. Please call me Rei when I'm not in disguise."

Akechi smiled. "Oh. That wasn't in the files. I'm really sorry." He did sound sincere about that to Rei's ear. He gestured to the place opposite her, then smiled as the waitress delivered drinks. "It's a bit chilly today, so I took the liberty of ordering something that's not coffee for you." The hot milk tea with bubbles instantly got Rei's eyes alight. "This is just an informal inquiry. You don't need to go into personally traumatic experiences if you don't want to."

Rei raised an eyebrow at that. "Then why talk to me at all?"

"You were an outsider, coming into the situation fresh," Akechi explained, sipping his own tea. "Furthermore your records indicate your grades are excellent, and as a _karateka_ you must have excellent situational awareness for your age." Rei frowned at him. "Sorry to keep bringing it up, but you did ask. The point is, Kamoshida had been in power for so long, many of the students who did agree to give accounts had no idea anything was, for want of a better word, abnormal about the situation."

It took a lot of thinking before Rei felt ready to respond to that. "Well, obviously I noticed the injuries right away. There was also. . . look, I'm a country girl at heart. I don't know how it is in the city, but out there, if you were going to the local school, and I was being forced to by Dad - "

"Why would your father make you attend?" Akechi asked. "Surely he'd have paid to send you to a better school in Sapporo, if not elsewhere in the country."

Rei leaned back. "He wants me to take over the medical practice. So I have to get to know people in town in case any of them stick around. I went to cram school in Sapporo three nights a week, and since we've only got a public school it's not _too_ terrible."

Akechi made some notes. "I understand. You were saying?"

Rei smiled slightly. "The point is, not everyone back home was hot on school, so you got a mix. Some kids moving faster than others, mostly, but everyone knew they had to go and went along with it. With Shujin...before..that...other than the boys' competition team, everyone at Shujin _did not want to be there._ It was worse with some than others, of course. The worst were the nerdy boys and pretty much every girl. And yes, I thought it was strange, but I learned why that was way too soon for my liking."

Akechi made a face. "I wish I had to imagine. Adults like him are the worst examples of the breed. I hope I don't grow into something like that, just expecting children to obey."

Rei's expression twisted. "They're not _all_ like that...but yeah, a few too many in my life just don't get it."

Akechi smiled. "I can see that. You must be . . . well, driven, to keep it up in the face of so much scorn."

"I can't be anything else. In the end, I am me. The rest of the world can get out of the way if they don't like it."

* * *

"So, nothing, huh?" Ann asked.

Rei shrugged. "Well, he offered to meet up again some time. I think he enjoyed the conversation, but I'm not sure if it was that or anything else.' She leaned back on her bed. "I'll keep an eye on it." She turned her attention to Shiho. "Besides, we're not here about Akechi."

Shiho nodded. "I did that digging you guys wanted. Hiroshi Keino." She put a magazine down on the table, showing a man in his late 40s. "He owns Keino Imports, the company that runs those warehouses I mentioned. It turns out they're what's called 'Foreign trade zones.' It's a lot of complicated stuff, but the basic point is that legally they don't count as being in Japan so they can store stuff there indefinitely without inspections or taxes or anything."

"Wait, wait." Makoto shook her head. "Are you telling me someone could store _anything_ there, like even a biological weapon?"

Shiho frowned. "Probably not that. . . legally, anyway. Of course, there's also this." She tapped on her phone. Rei picked her own phone up and looked at the shared link. "There's a whole bunch of these. Keino keeps getting accused of bribing officials, then skating out by bribing more officials."

Rei frowned. "That's not sustainable without a serious backer, is it?"

Ryuji growled. "And this guy's also workin' his people to death? Shit, why are we debating this?"

Rei shrugged. "Last time Shiho-chan brought this up, we didn't have a name," she pointed out. "And _if_ it's close to what it looks like, I'll buy that something needs to be done."

Shiho slammed her hand on the table. "Why?! Why won't you listen to me!?"

"...that's it." Rei said coldly. "Officially, we're tabling this tonight." Everyone stared at her. "Makoto-chan, Ann-chan, could you get Morgana his dinner on your way out? It's late." She gave Shiho a look whose meaning couldn't be mistaken for anything but _Don't Go Anywhere._

When everyone else was out of the room, Rei sighed. "Shiho-chan, I don't mean to pry, but I have to know. Why is this personal for you?" When Shiho didn't answer for a long moment, Rei reached out and put a hand on her shoulder with a gentle squeeze. "Please. Remember what we did to Kamoshida. I just need to know that you want to do it again for the right reasons."

"Because it's my uncle, and my dad, and my family. This is the only 'decent' job most of them can get and...and...they saved up and paid a lot of money and they...did some stuff to get me into a real school, even a terrible one like Shujin."

Rei's eyes narrowed a moment, then widened in understanding. She removed her hand from Shiho's shoulder, where she had been touching the other girl through the sweater. Shiho looked up, stricken with shock...right up until Rei put that hand directly on her forehead. "So…" Rei said. "That's why you can't go to the police, and why you wouldn't talk about it." Slowly, she smiled. "Do you not want me to bring it up with the others?"

"Ann knows." Shiho said. "Her dad was nice enough to let me use his apartment as my address for the school."

Rei chuckled at that. "Maybe Makoto-chan will let me use hers for my transfer?" A long pause. "Nah. Right. So, the authorities definitely won't do anything about it, and the new place will definitely end up using the tech to make things cheaper, and not safer except where convenient at best." She finally let her hand drop away from Shiho's face. "Did you check the app?" Shiho held up the phone.

 ***Potential Match Found. Location Found. Distortion Needed.***

* * *

Yu's eyes widened. "Wait, wait. You're telling me that Hiroshi Keino, a respected business owner, built his business on...what? Giving Burakumin _jobs_? Why would you go after him for _that_?"

A raised eyebrow. "So you _do_ have a soul. Whether it's rigged to your brain is still in doubt, but it's definitely in there." Yu made an indignant noise. Rei continued with "Do me a favor for our guests? The ambassadorial staff know what we're talking about, but strict translations leave some stuff out, and I don't know if they'll bother with an actual person. Quick explanation as you see it?" Yu gave her an incredulous look. "Humor me?"

"I guess if you just want my take…" Yu shrugged. "Criminal underclass, for the most part. Oh, it's not their fault. Ancestors were just doing the wrong jobs at the wrong time, and they're still paying for it."

Rei sighed. "And as a result, the villages they lived in back then are the 'bad neighborhoods' of Tokyo, nobody will hire them for decent jobs, and a lot of them end up attached to the Yakuza somehow. And, of course, no one will rent to anyone with one of those addresses in their history, etc. etc. They can't get out...and why bother going to the police when your _first thought_ was _literally_ 'Criminal?'"

"Tha-that's not what I meant!" Yu protested. "I'm sure at least some of them are decent people - " Rei gave him a narrow-eyed look. "Arggh! Are you just trying to trap me or something, because if you are it doesn't change anything!"

Rei shook her head. "That's not the point, Narukami. It's a fun side-show, but not the point." Yu screamed again. "Hey, you're the one who made it easy. Anyway, think about it."

Yu did. "The safety violations _are_ weird. The inspectors should have stepped in. Buraku or not, the law's the law." When Rei made a looping 'keep going' gesture he exhaled sharply. "I don't know what you want from me."

Rei shook her head. "So close, too. Oh well. I've got a day or so. Shall I send for coffee?"

* * *

Rei swung by the Student Council room, still as Ren, to 'help' with minor paperwork for Makoto. Which made an excellent excuse for a quick, quiet conversation. "Makoto-chan…" Rei said, keeping her eyes firmly on her own work. "How much do you trust me to not lead you wrong?"

Makoto took a long time to answer that question. "Rei-chan, if you have time and all the facts, I believe you're reliable enough. But I can't discount your history either here. You've spent just over half of your life under the care of a mental health professional. While I know that's normal for people with your condition, the medication you take to maintain your stability is rather strong. Furthermore, you've recently been through a traumatic experience."

Rei flipped a few sheets into the 'out' basket next to her. Makoto would look them over later, of course, but she had insisted having someone else sort it first would be helpful. "Bottom line?"

"I think…" Makoto said "...you're eager to prove to yourself that the power of the Metaverse is real. That you're a good, and more importantly a functional person despite your issues. That the things you do can make a difference." She looked up. "And that we're actually your friends, and not just people you're using to do all that."

Rei nearly tore the paper she was picking up. "M-maybe." She took a deep breath. "So...Shiho convinced me, but she had to let slip something she didn't want to. That means the last vote's yours. I don't want to betray that trust she accidentally placed in me."

Makoto swallowed. "That's...a _lot_ of trust," she said finally. "How important is it?"

Rei put the paperwork down. "People _will_ die if no one does anything." Makoto stared at her. "Big, I know. But you knew that anyway. People have already gotten hurt."

Makoto shook her head. "I already know people have been hurt, but killed? That's...incredible to take on faith. Why aren't the authorities acting?"

Rei slammed the papers down in frustration. "That's what I can't tell you! I'm sorry, but this could destroy people! Not just kill, but condemn them to _worse!_ "

Makoto shook her head. "See, this is what I'm talking about. I can see you believe it, but it's really hard for _me_ to believe without the underlying facts. Are they Yakuza? Secret government project? Aliens? Russians?" Rei's face was impassive. "The situations are not quite equally implausible, but it's close enough. I just don't understand, and without that I can't go ahead with this."

* * *

Rei intended to go straight to find Shiho after she was done, but Ryuji intercepted her. "Hey, you got your stuff for the gym today? I'd like to get back at it, but it's easier with a partner, y'know?" Rei was about to shake her head when she noticed a number of boys in the gym uniform coming down the hall. Ryuji blinked as she straightened up into full 'boy mode.' He turned around slowly. "Oh, hey guys."

"Hanging out with the new guy, huh?" one of the boys said.

He was about to make it derisive, when Rei decided to cut him off. "I do not know who you are, and I do not wish to. Please leave us alone."

"What's with the attitude?" the second boy said in a low growl.

Ryuji shook his head. "Leave'er-I mean, him alone guys."

The first boy shook his head. "You've got your track stuff in your bag."

Rei stepped in front of Ryuji. "He has asked me to show him some of my skills and to evaluate a dojo." She shook her head. "Please cease this. I have good reason to not want to hurt you, so don't force my hand."

Ryuji pulled her back. "No way. Don't you throw a punch, if they're gonna fight someone I'll do it. Nakaoka, Takeishi, I know you got a legit beef, but don't drag Ren into it." He paused. "Uhm...not that I need to defend him. I seen him punch through a brick."

Nakaoka and Takeishi looked at Rei skeptically. "That guy?"

Rei clenched her fists. "It's not _about_ that." Her voice had slipped up into a higher register. "Dammit, you don't even care…"

Ryuji looked back at Rei and nodded once. "Go on ahead. We on tomorrow?"

Rei winced. "I'm not - "

"Dammit, Amamiya-kun," Ryuji said. "They ain't gonna kick _me_ out for getting beat up."

Takeishi blinked. "Wait, what? You serious."

"Yeah, man." Ryuji said. "Principal's got a real hard-on for it."

Rei shook her head. "I didn't want it getting out, but I think my acceptance here was a favor to someone."

Nakaoka's expression hardened. "Likely story."

Takeishi responded with a hand on his own friend's shoulder. "Maybe, but do you really wanna take a chance? You know the rumors. I don't think he could rip your arms out of their sockets and beat you to death with'em, but I don't want to tackle anyone we gotta call _sensei_ anyway."

Nakaoka gave them all a sour look. "This ain't over, Sakamoto. We'll catch you without your boyfriend some other time."

They both looked completely baffled when Ryuji burst out into laughter at that one. Rei smiled.

* * *

About an hour later, Rei was feeling awesome. It wasn't just the silly end to the earlier encounter, although that had helped. But even better was the gym Ryuji had found.

Protein Lovers was not a gym for the mere fitness nut. The kind of person who was simply there to 'get in shape' could pay the entry fee and use the equipment, but they wouldn't truly be welcome. They only had treadmills to fill the cardio needs of customers, and similarly spartan strength machines. What they _had_ was freeweights, heavy bags, speed bags, practice dummies, weapons racks, sparring mats, and pretty much anything else an aspiring martial artist could want to hone their skills outside the confines of a proper dojo.

Even better, Rei had her hair properly up - not the stupid trick she used to look like a boy, but just up out of her way. No makeup, just her shorts and short T-shirt. "So…" She said to Ryuji, spinning around. "How do you like the real me?" Ryuji gave her a quick thumbs up. "Right. So, let's do some warmup, then I'll show you those stretches."

"Huh?"

Rei raised an eyebrow. "Your leg's still bothering you, right? Is it still broken?"

"Well, no…" Ryuji admitted. "But you sure about this?"

Rei thought about it. "No, but I've seen it work before. I think it's worth trying." They pulled up some space on the mats and started running through Rei's exercises. She kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, but strangely, it never did.

At least, not in the form that she had been expecting. Instead of harassment, someone else seemed to recognize Ryuji. "Hey, Sakamoto. Got your girlfriend here to help out?"

"N-no way, man!" Ryuji said in a panic. "Uh...Rei's not my type, know what I mean?"

Rei grinned. "Who's your friend?"

"Ikeda-sempai," Ryuji said by way of introduction. "Anyway, yeah. I was thinking of taking up boxing. Can't run quite like I used to, and Rei's got some moves. I might get back into track stuff, but not...well, officially."

Ikeda raised an eyebrow. "Rei-chan, you're good?"

"Better," Rei said with a cocky smirk. "Maybe we can spar on the mats some time."

Ikeda chuckled. "No thanks. I just come here for the weights." He looked to Ryuji. "You sure about that? I hear the track team's coming back, what with everything going on."

Ryuji's expression went through several emotions all at once, hope, dejection, and then a strange calm. "I was kicked out of the club too. They ain't gonna take me back, so why worry about it? Boxing, well, no club for that at Shujin and I can do it on my own, or at least with Rei's help. I can't go amateur anyway, not for a couple of years."

Rei raised an eyebrow. "You serious? It's going to be a lot of pain."

"Can't be worse than Kamoshida."

Ikeda nodded. "True enough, that. Anyway, I don't blame you for what happened. But I got my track scholarship anyway, so . . . "

"Yeah." Ryuji shrugged. "I got another way to pay for college. Part time job." He grinned. "That's where I met Rei. She's kinda my boss."

Rei flushed. "It's nothing too fancy. We work for a delivery service. That's why we've got to get Ryuji's leg working again, anyway."

Ikeda nodded. "Well, sounds like you have it together better than I'd heard. You going to be here often? I might see you around…"


	14. Chapter 13

Morgana curled up next to Rei at her writing desk. "So Makoto-chan's the last holdout, huh?"

"Can't say I blame her." Rei said, sighing. "And, at the same time, I _can't_ tell Shiho-chan's secret. Burakumin…." She shook her head in disbelief. "Unbelievable. A part of me thought we were supposed to be past this."

Morgana made a rather disdainful face. "People who would target someone for innocent acts by their ancestors is a perfectly worthy target for Phantom Thieves. I'm sure Makoto - "

"I'm sure _too._ " Rei said. "But Shiho is terrified, and rightly so. I'm sure the school knows, unofficially, but if it gets out she'll be expelled."

Morgana's hair rose, subtly. "But if we _don't,_ Keino might hurt her family!"

" _Morgana_ ," Rei said with hushed exasperation. "Please keep it quieter." She took a deep breath. "And the worst part is, Makoto-chan won't ever figure it out. I hate to say it, but she's had it the best out of any of us." Morgana tilted his head, prompting her to continue. "It's . . . well, the rest of us are all marked out for what and who we are. Transwoman? I've been dealing with stuff like that 'boyfriend' crack for eight years. Ann-chan? Half-foreigner, Japanese features while being _naturally_ blonde, and, not to put too fine a point on it, smoking hot? Heck, I made that mistake until I actually looked at her face. I'm guessing not many people, man or woman, bother." She chuckled. "And you called Ryuji a Yankee yourself, but really, he just did it because he's the type to run with it when others stick him with an unjust label."

"Okay…" Morgana said skeptically "...but how does that relate to Makoto?"

Rei took a deep breath. "Makoto's isolated too, but it's mostly her own doing. She let pursuit of personal perfection get in the way of actually being a person. She convinced the school to make her president of the student council, but that was probably because she's wicked smart and had no connections, so everyone agreed she would be fair. And she has been, to a fault. Everyone trusts her, defers to her...and everyone dislikes her. But only mildly. She's never been on the receiving end of real hate before. She doesn't _know_ what it's like, to know there are people who will destroy you for being you, who make it personal."

Morgana thought. "Can't you explain it?"

"Not really." Rei said with a sigh. "It's...if you know, you don't want anyone to suffer that if they don't have to." She stood up. "Ugh. I'll finish this tomorrow. Good night, Morgana."

* * *

When she awoke, it was to her own frustration that she was back in the padded cell. "What is it now?"

"A most perplexing dilemma." Igor said to her, still sitting at his desk like always, deep voice somehow mocking. "You have allowed one ally to stay another's hand. If the situation continues, rehabilitation will be forever out of your reach…"

Rei rubbed her forehead. "You brought me here to tell me _that_? You _know_ I don't sleep well when you do this, right?"

Caroline suddenly appeared at the door, and Rei jumped away in surprise. "Watch your tongue, Patient!"

Igor raised his hand. "Relax, Caroline. It is a fair point, and I do have more to add." Rei turned her attention to the spirit. "Know you this - another potential ally lies on the road ahead. One who has wielded the power of Persona in the past, an outcast from society like yourself due to her. . . abnormalities."

Rei's eyes widened. "Wait, you mean - "

"You will meet this woman...and you can choose to aid her, or not. To assist her will bring you to great peril, however." Igor thought for a bit. "I would suggest that her aid will not be absolutely necessary for your rehabilitation, but it is your decision."

Rei frowned. "I...see. That...actually is helpful." The bells tolled…

* * *

Ann whistled low. She and Rei were on the roof during the lunch break, with Rei hiding behind the HVAC equipment again, although this time she hadn't pulled her shirt all the way open, just loosened the sports bra. "Shiho told you? I didn't think she trusted anyone that much."

"I figured it out," Rei said, sighing. "Please tell me you can persuade her Makoto-chan is trustworthy."

Ann shook her head. "No way. Even if I could, I wouldn't."

"Huh?" Rei felt taken aback. "You trust her with the Phantom Thieves stuff, but not with this?"

Ann twirled her hair, looking nervous. "I...actually don't trust her with the Phantom Thieves either. She's been a total goody two-shoes for the past year and a half I've known about her, and suddenly it's all turned around? I mean, I know it's hard to argue with her having a Persona, but I'm afraid she'll get a guilty conscience."

Rei sighed. "I know what you mean. She came to it more slowly than the rest of us. There's some resentment there, but I do wonder."

Ann looked out to the nearby buildings. "Yeah. I don't really have a choice on the Metaverse, but I absolutely _won't_ add in Shiho's secret on top of that. Sorry, Rei, but it has to be her decision."

"I understand," Rei added. "Do you mind looking out. Lunch is almost up."

Ann grinned teasingly. "What, the top's nothing I haven't seen before, Rei- _chan._ "

Rei flushed heavily at that.

* * *

Makoto frowned skeptically at Rei. "Okay, so, let me see if I've got this straight? The night you came to Tokyo, you dreamed about being in an insane asylum with two children for orderlies and an old tengu sitting at a desk."

"Yes." Rei said, not liking where this was going. It was after school, and the pair of them were back on the roof, leaning against the corners of the HVAC system.

Makoto raised a skeptical eyebrow. "These orderlies give you decidedly dangerous-sounding medical procedures to increase your powers."

"Yep."

Makoto frowned. "The tengu gives you vague prophetic clues, and now he says some _one_ is being kept captive in this Keino's warehouse?"

"Yeees." Rei sighed. "I know it sounds crazy, but is it any crazier than the rest of this?"

"A bit, yes." Makoto said. "Not as crazy as I'd have thought you were before Kamoshida, but it's still not a good look on you. How's the real medication going?"

Rei glared. "Look, Makoto-chan, that stuff just takes the edge off and lets me function more or less like a human being. It's not like without it I'm seeing or hearing things. I just...y'know, can't get up in the morning."

"All right, all right." Makoto said placatingly. "It's just concern - "

Rei let out one of those low growls that tended to foretell a serious round of yelling. "Makoto-chan, can I suggest that you're maybe not as knowledgeable about this as you think you are? You're very smart, and very good at rote learning, because that's what makes you good at school. I'm good at those things too, but because I've been dealing with mental health, both my own and others' by proxy, since I was in elementary school I've picked up enough to know when people are just following what's considered the common wisdom. I am _not_ crazy, and dealing with mental issues doesn't mean something is _wrong._ "

"And it doesn't mean something _isn't_." Makoto said. "You might have undiagnosed issues exacerbated by dealing with the Metaverse."

Rei smirked. "There's some evidence for a split personality, is what you're saying? If you want a chat with my Shadow, she's set up in an ice cream shop on the Meta side of Maihama station."

Makoto made a face. "Well, yes, her continued presence is disturbing. What if this Igor entity is somehow responsible?"

"First we would need to determine if he's real, which you've also called into question." Rei said. "If there really is a person trapped in that warehouse, it would go a long way to confirming that. We don't have to commit to direct action against Keino just to look around for a missing person, right?"

Makoto sighed. "I should never have let that excuse get me into Mementos. Fine, you win. Promise me that you won't take this as consent to send a calling card, and I'll give my blessings to other forays into the Palace for the time being."

* * *

On her way out of the school, Rei signaled that Shiho should follow her. Ann looked at them quizzically, and Rei gave her the slightest narrowing of the eyes. She and Shiho managed to snag the corner table at a small cafe in Shibuya, where Rei slumped over her tea. "Shiho-chan, I don't see any way around this."

"We're not going." Shiho's voice was so full of disappointment Rei almost broke right there. "Dammit, Rei-chan. I can't tell her. I _can't_. I don't even want Ryuji-kun finding out, and he's known me long enough he's got to _suspect._ "

Rei gulped. This was about to get even less pleasant than it was already. "Shiho...we _are_ going, but you aren't thinking this through." She glanced about, but no one was listening in. " _Think_. You're sure this guy doesn't like your family for. . . reasons. Well, don't you think those reasons are going to be on full display." Shiho's jaw dropped. "...And the worst part is that. . . we have to go anyway."

"Wha-no!" Shiho's harsh whisper came with deep, gulping breaths. "You're right, I can't - y-you can't - "

Rei shook her head. "Keino's restrained in the real world by physics, but apparently someone else is trapped in his Palace. If he hates you so much he'd do this in the real world, how bad _is_ the Palace?" Shiho stopped dead, looking like she might simply keel over from the shock. "I know it's a stranger instead of your family, but if it's true, can we really walk away?"

Shiho looked down at her own tea. "...no...but…"

Rei shook her head, pulling Shiho's hand to her to squeeze it. "Shiho-chan, I think you're selling Makoto-chan short. And I think you know that, or you'd never have risked bringing it up to begin with."

"And if you're wrong, it's _my_ life that's ruined this time." Shiho said miserably. "Can't we just leave her out of it?"

Rei closed her eyes. ". . . At this point, I don't think so. She'll figure out something's up, especially if we send the calling card. That's her condition for looking into it - she hasn't said 'yes', she's just stopped saying 'no.'"

Shiho winced. "I can't get out of this, can I?"

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

* * *

The scene above LeBlanc was just as bad as Rei had feared. There wasn't anything innately _wrong_ , exactly, but the tension was so thick it could be cut with a knife. Everybody had coffee, but that was the only thing unifying them.

Ryuji was standing in the middle of the floor, running through his stretches. Makoto and Morgana had taken up seats near Rei's bed, with Morgana on the floor, apparently discussing general battle strategies. Meanwhile, Shiho was resolutely sitting in front of Rei's television, looking over the small selection of movies as if she was seriously considering putting one in.

Ryuji noticed Rei's arrival first. "Hey, what kept you?"

"I had to go find newspapers," Rei said. "Yes, physical newspapers. We can burn them afterwards."

Makoto raised an eyebrow. "Taking security rather seriously, are you?"

"With the teachers having every legal right to search our phones?" Rei snorted. "With some of the stuff I look up, I do a factory reset every morning. And no, it doesn't clear the Nav." She started setting up the table. "So, we've got a name, we've got a place. Keino's new warehouse is the site of his Palace. We figure out what he thinks of it as, we have our way in."

"That's what the newspapers are for?" Makoto asked. "And how did you get these old ones?"

"Don't ask." Rei said bluntly. "Just be glad we live in Japan. The recycling laws might be a pain, but in America they just throw whatever in there." She pulled one paper out of the stack, reasonably dry, and started reading. "These are from the past couple of weeks. Don't bother spending a whole lot of time on a story if you don't see anything."

The Phantom Thieves quickly got down to it. It wasn't exciting or glamourous work, but with only a few weeks worth of papers at least it went by quickly. Ryuji gave up first. "Man, there's a lotta real boring stuff involved with this, isn't there?"

Ann shrugged. "Well, it can't all be partying and stealing, I guess…" She looked down. "...well, nothing in the lifestyle sections so far. Guess he's not into that sort of thing."

Shiho sighed. "There _wouldn't_ be, would there? He's a businessman." She looked down at her own paper. "Huh, I take that back. Ann, you have the one from last Tuesday? This is just a reprint of the original warehouse story that put me onto this, but it mentions a big donation in the Lifestyle section after all."

Ann flipped through, then looked at the papers she'd already put aside. "...sorry, I didn't see it." A quick bit of cross-referencing. "Oh, yeah. It says here 'Hiroshi Keino, international trader and noted philanthropist - yadda yadda yadda.' She sighed. "It's all about how he basically donated all his profits to a bunch of places in Kyoto."

Ryuji raised an eyebrow. "Gave away all his money? That don't sound right."

Makoto rolled her eyes, but Rei raised a hand. " _Which_ places in Kyoto? It might be important."

Ann scrambled. "Uhm...he's put up _torii_ at Fushimi Inari, both on behalf of Keino Imports and himself...preservation at Nijo Castle, Himeji Castle….uhm...Kokoen gardens."

Makoto blinked. "The _torii_ is common enough, but the rest…"

Rei sunk deep into thought. "The two castles are easy enough - they're both symbols of the old Shogunate. A time when land owners could all but dictate policy on their own lands. I'm not sure how the garden fits."

Makoto sighed. "It's a recreation of a number of different gardens."

Ryuji grinned, and lit up his nav. "Castle!"

"No Match Found."

Rei frowned. "Wouldn't be so convenient as a repeat. Any other ideas?"

Ann shrugged. "Temple? Garden?"

"No Match Found."

Morgana sighed. "Sorry, Ann-dono, but . . . "

Rei flopped back into her seat. "It was an idea."

"... _Shoen,_ " Shiho said suddenly.

"Match Found. Navigation will begin when you are in closer proximity."

Makoto's jaw dropped. "An _entire manor holding?_ Those could be huge! It might take years!"

"Probably not." Rei said. "Morgana, check me on this, but it can only actually be as large as he can reasonably conceive, right?"

Morgana thought about it. "That's true, but people can imagine a lot."

Rei made a small gesture to acknowledge the point. "True, but most of it will likely be empty fields. Try to think of absolutely everything between here and Shujin, and I bet you won't be able to remember more than one percent of it with any accuracy. You can shorthand, say, you know the convenience stores will all be kinda the same, but if you had to remember every detail about even one of them you'd be _wrong_ if you don't go in that particular store all the time. So we only need to check the major landmarks."

Makoto said "It's worth a try, I guess. But not tonight. We don't have time to get over there."

"Tomorrow, then," Rei replied.

* * *

That morning, Rei saw Akechi on the platform again. She glanced down to Morgana. "Hey, uhm...can I get some privacy again?"

Morgana looked up at her. "Are you sure? I mean, he's the enemy, isn't he?"

"I won't say anything specific," Rei countered. "Sorry, just...I feel like I need at least one friend not directly connected to the after-school job." Morgana thought about it, then nodded and quickly made himself scarce. Easy enough for a cat.

Rei made her way across the platform. Akechi was standing there, seeming to ignore her. She stood next to him, as if about to get on the train at the platform he was waiting at. She didn't bother disguising her voice with no one else around. "Goro-kun?"

"Amamiya-san," Akechi said. Rei winced visibly at the formality. "You should be more careful about dropping your disguise. I don't know Amamiya Ren beyond a case file."

"You didn't give Rei your contact info," Rei countered. "And you have no need to be on this platform unless you want to talk to her."

Akechi seemed to think about that. "True enough. Do yo...does Rei wish to speak to me again?"

Rei suppressed her annoyance. "She does. Somewhere quiet after school?"

"You almost make it sound like a date." Akechi said with a small laugh. "The cafe from last time. Will that be satisfactory?"

Rei nodded. "I will relay your message."

* * *

Rei saw Haru lifting up a fertilizer bag as she entered the school. Rei did a double-take on realizing it was not a small bag. She wouldn't have had trouble with it, but Haru seemed to be hauling it around like it was full of cotton balls. Smiling to herself, she walked over to help. "Okumura-san?"

"Oh, Ren!" Haru sounded delighted. "Don't worry, I've got it. But if you want to accompany me up to the roof..."

"Certainly." Rei gave her a slight smile and grabbed the small box of gardening tools nearby instead. "How are you this morning?"

Haru shrugged under the bag, even more impressively. "It's fine."

Rei blinked. Something about the tone of Haru's answer seemed off. She slipped into what she had started to refer to as Thief's Sight, the special perceptive powers that Igor had gifted her with. Haru was doing her best to conceal it, but there was a slight hitch in the movement of her left leg, and a _very_ careful makeup job over one eyebrow concealing a cut. "Okumura-san? Was there an accident?"

Haru shook her head. "I'll be okay."

Rei frowned. "I do not wish to be rude, but you are injured."

Haru stopped dead for a moment, before continuing up the stairs. "I'm surprised you noticed, Ren-kun."

"Very little about the condition of my friends escapes me." Rei said. "However, if you do not wish me to pry I won't."

Haru sighed. "I said I'll be fine. It was an accident, nothing more."

Rei smiled. "So long as that's the end of it. However, you should take care of that. I can handle one bag of fertilizer."

They switched loads and continued up to the roof. Once there, Haru put the tools down. "Is Rei available after school?"

"I'm...afraid not." Rei said with an internal groan. "She has work tonight. However, she will be happy to spend time with you tomorrow, I imagine."

Haru grinned. "It's nice to see family, even distant family, get along so well. You know her schedule that well?"

Rei shook her head. "No. I just know my cousin well enough that anything short of actual obligation wouldn't prevent her from spending time with you after you helped her, if you need it."

"I'll be there."

* * *

Akechi probably hadn't planned on this. Rei was made up, like she always did these days, and had her hair down. What _was_ somewhat different was the attitude. Instead of sitting across from the older boy, she had plunked down in the booth next to him, almost but not quite uncomfortably close. A few girls in the cafe had recognized him and were glaring at Rei, but she evidently was intent on paying it no mind.

However, she wasn't saying anything either. "Rei-chan...not that I don't enjoy your company, but you realize I'm quite busy with my consulting business…"

"Sorry." Rei said. "I just...I'm having some trouble composing my thoughts."

Akechi chuckled. "I see...why not just start from the beginning?"

Rei pretended to think about it, but then shook her head. "I'm working with some of my other friends on a . . . start-up business, I guess. Makoto-chan had an idea to help us all make some extra money, but we don't want to talk about it until we know no one will steal the idea."

Akechi shrugged. "Then...what's the issue?"

Rei sighed. "A disagreement on where to draw lines. One of us. . . it's definitely not illegal, but she wants to do some stuff that's probably not actually very safe. And another one is being more cautious, but that's not good either."

Akechi grinned. "Well, if it's not illegal, the only thing I can think of that would be within your abilities and resources might be some kind of courier service. I should warn you that such things are regulated."

Rei did her best to look crestfallen. "Really? We weren't going to use vehicles, so I figured on foot we were relatively safe. The idea was more. . . well, carrying messages back and forth, especially between schools." She was thinking faster now. "I know a smartphone's more convenient, but it turns out I'm _really_ good at spotting people in a crowd. Did you know you're being followed?" She threw that last bit in almost casually.

Akechi jumped as his brain caught up. "What, you mean the fan club?"

"No." Rei's voice went quieter. "Two guys in a car across the street. Tinted windows, but if you look at just the right angle it's open a crack. I barely caught a glimpse of one of them in that pedestrian mirror over the crosswalk."

"Amamiya, that's. . . that's incredible!" Akechi's jaw dropped. "They are, indeed, tailing me, although it's for my protection. After speaking to you here I'll be meeting a contact." He grinned, leaning back. "So, you're not looking to evade the police so much as school authorities. I could see how such a system might be detected, and I'm unsure of the market, but if nothing else it will be good practice for a career in espionage or law enforcement."

Rei grinned. "And now you see the problem. This isn't going to work if I can't get everyone on the same page of what's harmless business and what's crossing the line."

Akechi sighed. "I'm afraid I don't know how much help I can be. As I said, you might want to look into regulations, but since you won't be using commercial vehicles for this I suspect catching you will be beneath police notice as long as you deal honestly. But . . . "

"Thanks, Akechi-kun." Rei interrupted. "I have to figure that out for myself and explain things in a way both parties will accept, if I'm in charge."

"That seems likely," Akechi said, leaning back. "Of course, I work alone so I don't know much about such things."

Rei grinned. "Oh well. Let's get some tea."

* * *

Rei stepped off the train at the industrial train stop, far off the beaten path, with entirely too much sweet tea in her belly. She checked her phone for directions really quickly, then moved on before the workers in the district started moving through for shift change. The buildings here were all plain concrete, or occasionally aluminium, affairs, generally somewhat dilapidated as though no one were ever expected to visit, except on an inspection. The one bit of reasonably good news was that the streets had plenty of lamps, and they were starting to come on.

 _No sneak attacks from rough sorts. Not in this part of Tokyo, anyway,_ Rei thought to herself with some satisfaction. It was reinforced when Shiho and Ann came up beside her. Shiho was wearing a bright pink hoodie and track pants, while Ann had selected a red sweater to go with hers. Rei glanced at them, and nodded, without bothering to speak. They were going to stick out like sore thumbs anyway. Especially with Morgana following behind them.

Suddenly, Morgana spoke up. "Anyway, we need a code name for Ann-dono."

"Panther," Ann said.

Shiho grinned. "Ann and I talked about it awhile ago."

Makoto was at the place, still in her school uniform, along with Ryuji in his. Although it was so unrecognizable as such that it probably counted as trying to not be obvious. "Right, so. . . we're going to need a better answer than walking. Taxi next time, probably."

"Too expensive." Shiho said. "Sorry, but I don't have a slush fund to raid like Rei does. Even if we make up the cost. . "

Rei nodded. "Makoto, business casual. You can probably pass as an intern or something. Look up another business nearby. Maybe Ann too. The rest of us will need to look like part-timers or something." They approached the Palace. "Anyway, this here's the place." It was, at the moment, a construction site. The skeleton of a massive, blocks-wide warehouse had gone up, with Tokyo Bay visible beyond it. The standard array of bulldozers, cranes, and men were at work, with stacks of piping, concrete, and rebar arrayed everywhere. Men were busy, and no one was taking notice of them. "We're all in agreement?"

No one shook their heads or said anything, so Rei pushed the button on the Navi…

* * *

The world shifted with only a twinge of pain. When their eyes cleared, the Phantom Thieves stood on the edge of a massive farmland. It extended out to the horizon in all three directions before them, with every plot laid out in a perfectly square rice paddy, with tall stocks of the staple grain growing out, interfering with the workers moving through them. Only, they weren't farming the rice.

Each 'paddy' was home to cows, horses, or even chickens, wandering around and eating the rice. Every few seconds, the cry of a dying animal would go up from somewhere, and then workers dressed like medieval peasants would rush to the animal's side. They gutted, skinned, and butchered it in seconds, far faster than possible even with power tools, and then they would carry a painting or some other valuable artwork to a nearby cart, along with sackfuls of what could only be paper money, for it to be hauled off.

Skull looked distinctly ill. "Look...look at the water." Joker did, hesitating. It was red with blood and floating excrement. And it smelled even worse, like the acids they used in the science labs. "Man, is this how he sees his employees?"

"How are we supposed to find anything?" Panther groaned, holding her nose.

Queen grimaced. "Eyes on the horizon. There have to be buildings."

Joker looked behind them, noting the tall hedge. Then her eyes caught someone approaching, a large man dressed in a samurai's armor. " _Hide_." she hissed, jumping into the bush. Everyone followed suit, and the guard passed by without even a glance despite the fact that he should have seen them from a mile off. "...okay, guards exceptionally bad at guarding. That'll help, anyway." She turned and looked to the horizon again. "I'm seeing...a castle, and four granaries."

"Castle," Angel said.

"Which granary is closest?" Queen said at the same time. They stopped and looked at each other. "I want more information," Queen said in a level voice. "Sure, he's twisted, but is he actually dangerous?"

Angel looked fit to spit nails. "Queen! Look at what he's making them stand in!"

"Which only tells me he's an elitist." Queen countered. "A lot of people in history thought of their workers as lesser people. I need something. . . something concrete."

Joker finally snapped. "We're _not_ here to do any heart-stealing today regardless." Both Angel and Queen looked at her, shocked. "Even if he were. . . I dunno, doing medical experiments on their eyes while dancing around in a onesie and cackling about blood pain murder blood pain death we literally _couldn't_ take the Treasure, Angel. This was always a scouting mission. On the other hand, Queen, you're deliberately avoiding the issue by not wanting to go to the place most likely to have more information. We're going to the castle because it's our best bet, unless we hear something that tells us otherwise on the way."

* * *

Joker checked her phone as they slogged through the brush. Forty minutes. With the powers of the Phantom Thieves, they were making good time, or so it looked.

Then she glanced at the horizon again. In irritation, she pulled her dagger and quickly slashed a crude symbol for 'leg' into the bark of a tree. Skull gave her an odd look. "Testing a theory. Not sure it'll do any good. Keep going."

After another thirty subjective minutes, they hadn't passed the mark again. But the landscape hadn't changed either. Nor had the smell. "Morgana, can you sense anything?"

Morgana sighed. "Yeah, I don't think we're getting anywhere. We're going to have to use the paths."

Joker groaned. "Dammit, the smell's not so bad out here." She glanced out. Seeing no guards, she stepped out onto the dirt round surrounding the farms. Everyone followed as she swallowed to avoid throwing up. "Ugh...we've _got_ to find some way to deal with this."

"Joker, don't you think you're exaggera-ulp!" Angel started to say, before the odor finally reached her nose. "This is _disgusting!_ "

Queen sighed. "You're both being children."

"I grew up near farm country, Queen," Joker countered. "This isn't _natural._ " Queen looked like she was about to protest, despite turning a little green herself, when Joker's phone rang.

Skull, who wasn't looking _as_ bad as the girls but still wasn't great, frowned. "Wait, thought our phones didn't work here."

"They don't," Joker said. "...I'm gonna answer." Trying not to breathe, she pushed the button. "Greetings," she said, trying to drop her voice to Ren's pitch while holding her breath, which just resulted in a high wheeze.

A female voice with an incredibly thick Osakan accent answered back. "Hey, ya picked up! Yeah, managed to hack your phone, or. . . well, somethin' like that. It's a little hard ta explain and I'm not sure how it worked myself."

Joker froze, the miasma of the holding suddenly forgotten. "Who is this?"

"I ain't no one ya heard of," the voice responded. "And I didn't hack yer phone, exactly. More like I sent a message with my Persona, and your phone picked it up."

Joker looked around. Queen and Shiho both nodded. Joker returned the gesture. "Okay. Why?"

"I got a message for ya," The woman said. "Problem is...uhm...I'm kinda in the warehouse, and I can't get out. Ya can make a portal ta the real world from where you are?"

"Not a portal," Joker said. "But I can grab you and pull you through. Can you lead me to the spot that corresponds to where you're being held?"

The woman paused for a very long time. "Ah...I think so. Lemmie try this." A moment later, the Meta Nav lit up with a new way marker. "There, ya get that?"

"...got it," Joker said. "Okay team, this just shifted from Recon to Rescue."

* * *

Unfortunately, the Thieves quickly discovered that what had looked like a neat farm grid from the edge quickly turned into a series of paths cut at random between the rice paddies, with clean water being carried by irrigation ducts occasionally cutting across the path. The air seemed to clear, briefly, as they approached these.

And then there was the problem they hadn't counted on. The _heat_. It was only April, but the sun beat down relentlessly, heating the stinking field to levels generally not seen outside of the world's worst deserts, at least in nature.

Angel grimaced. "If this is the warehouse, it's like they don't even run the air conditioner."

Queen raised an eyebrow. "That can't be true." Angel looked like she was about to snap. "No, I don't mean - Angel!" Angel had stepped up into Queen's personal space, and looked like she was about to go for her spear. "Angel! This is what he _wants_ to do! He _has_ to run the AC, and he can't just turn it on full blast either, because _it would destroy the artwork._ "

Angel stepped back with a sigh, visibly releasing her anger. "That's true in the old warehouse, Queen. This is the _new_ one they're building. Did you read the article?"

"...no." Queen shook her head. "Right, individual climate control chambers so the merchandise, so the workers can suffer?" Angel nodded. "Fine. I'm not saying 'yes' just yet, but let's see what this mysterious woman has to say."

Rei put her hand up to her mask, trying to pinch the bridge of her nose through the hard material. "Will you two knock it off? We all get it, but right now someone needs our help, not your disagreement!" By the end she was shouting, and even the workers had stopped to stare at the group. "Aheheh…." She turned to go like nothing had happened, only to see Panther leaning over one of the clean water channels. " _Panther!_ " Her tone turned from annoyed to terrified. "What are you doing?"

"What?" Panther asked. "I'm _thirsty!_ This outfit doesn't exactly breathe, like, at all."

 **"HALT!"** The voice of one of the samurai called out across the fields. **"Who said you could take a break?"**

Joker cursed. "Scatter!"

"Are you crazy? Scatter _where_ , into that stuff? I don't wanna touch it!" Skull shouted back, pulling out his shotgun.

Joker groaned. "Go for the mask!" she amended. Then the Shadow was on top of them.

The Shadow's blade slashed with speed that told Joker that someone in their group had watched far too many period dramas, and likely anime. She had to scramble backwards to stay clear, hoping that the others were doing likewise. _I am the Phantom Thief Joker, I have a lighter weapon and greater skill than any Shadow._ She told herself. _My speed is that of the night itself. This oaf can't match me._ She finally whipped out her dagger between the Shadow's strikes, and managed to lock blades with it. She didn't say anything else, just slipped in and kicked off the mask with a single arching motion over her head.

The Shadow dissolved…but instead of a single creature it became an entire horde of little hands, or possibly animated gauntlets, that split into separate swarms quickly and surrounded them. Morgana summoned Zorro instantly, trying to blow them all away at once, but to little effect. **"CARMEN!"** Panther's dance partner spun about one of the piles, and fire appeared. While it scorched the swarm of Shadows, a few sparks found their way into the pool of alleged water next to them, and it immediately lit up.

Joker was about to call out a retreat, when her lungs seized up. She fell to her knees, hacking and coughing at the noxious fumes. The screams from the workers pounded on her ears like actual hammers, and she fell to her knees, along with the other Thieves. Rei felt her mask start to dissipate, unable to breathe. A voice came from her phone. "Hey, hey?! Ya out there?" Rei tried to gasp out something, anything, but every time she tried to breathe she coughed and nearly threw up at the same time. Her lungs and stomach were burning. "Oh, this is gonna be a problem."

For several seconds, nothing else happened. Then the mysterious voice called out from the phone again. **"ARIADNE!"** A tall, robotic Persona flashed up out of the phone's screen. It had extremely long blue hair, and silver skin in the shape of a woman with an hourglass figure, obviously made from metal plates and covered in vents. It looked around, gestured, and a number of thick ropes shot through the fog. Rei barely managed to grab onto her phone tightly as she was yanked clear, flying over several paddies and deep into the maze.

Air returned, and with it Joker's mask and outfit. She coughed several more times. "Ev...everyone okay?" Everyone made groaning noises, and Joker concluded they probably were. She turned her attention to the phone. "Th..thanks."

"No problem," the woman on the other end said worriedly. "That set off alarms over on the real side. Had ta call up Ariadne and send her through."

"For _real_? You've got a Persona?" Skull's eyes were wide.

"Yep. Long story." There was another pause. "That got ya real close, but we're gonna have ta get outta this place another way."

Joker forced herself to her feet. "Let's go."

* * *

Joker's jaw dropped as she turned the last corner and noticed a small fortress. Literally, it was about twenty meters high, but basically consisted only of a single tower. "...okay, so we basically can't see anything on the field itself from far away. Super." She glanced left and right, but the guards were apparently still responding to the fire. They stepped inside...and the world shifted to a normal warehouse room, with boxes stacked up neatly all around them.

Skull's jaw dropped. "Wait a sec, ain't this the _new_ warehouse, the one he ain't built yet?"

Morgana groaned. "Palaces don't _have_ to be that straightforward. I'm guessing this one's both, somehow." He closed his eyes. "Okay, good news is that the distortions are almost gone in here. Shadows don't see the inside of this place at all, so they can't come in.

Joker promptly shut the door, and the smell shifted from hideous to merely stale. Then she went through her pouches, until she found what she was looking for. "Panther?" Some lit incense later, and the place was almost bearable. "Good." She checked the Meta Nav. They were right on top of it. "Oh, good, this is the place…." She paused. "Lady, we can see into the real world from here. I don't see you."

"Ya need ta come through," came the reply. "Sorry, you're just gonna have to trust me."

Panther glanced around the room nervously. "Joker, this doesn't seem right."

Angel nodded. "Yeah. Even I don't think Keino's _this_ kind of monster."

Skull smacked his fist into his hand. "I'll go. Joker, ya can't risk yourself like this for a stranger."

"Why not?" Joker said in an almost resigned voice. "That said, there will be cameras. I need to change." She thought for a few seconds. "Uhm...there's not enough boxes for me to change behind," she said, her cheeks coloring noticeably. Angel rolled her eyes. "I'm _sensitive_ about it, okay?"

Panther put a hand on Angel's shoulder. "Shiho, don't push on this one. Okay?"

Morgana grinned and suddenly Zorro was kneeling next to some boxes, providing an additional privacy screen. Joker smiled gratefully at him and stepped behind. Then she concentrated, and was Rei again. She quickly wiped all the makeup off her face, then pulled out a pair of long jeans, a T-shirt, and her binder. It wasn't bandages now, but a proper sports-bra like affair in flesh tones that very specifically did not match her flesh. Rei gritted her teeth, pulled off her top and proper bra, and put the offending article on on, then pulled on the shirt over it. She followed it up, after several deep breaths, with the pants. Finally, she grabbed the bandana from the 'Desperado' escapade and put it on, before adding her glasses.

Angel gave 'Ren' a look as she stepped out. "Jeez, you act like that's physically painful."

"It is." Rei said. "I can't wait to be back in my Phantom Thief outfit."

Queen frowned. "Joker, if you get caught…"

"...I get caught." Joker said. She took a deep breath, reached into her pouch for a bandanna to put over her head...and returned to the real world.

The warehouse was, indeed, warm, but as Makoto had predicted there was a distant rattle of an ancient climate control system. The overhead fluorescent lamps should have lit everything brightly, but only one in four was turned on. In the gloom, Rei could barely make out that the upper shelves were simply rack after rack of hooks. Sitting in each one was a canvas-covered object, leaning against rusty iron poles. The ground floor had larger boxes, each with a prominent lot number painted on the outside.

"Great," The woman said. "Break open lot 82669345."

Rei's jaw dropped. "What?!"

"There's a crowbar right over there!" Rei felt her heart nearly stop as it fully hit her what she was about to do. She grabbed the implement and opened the large box. Packing peanuts spilled out onto the floor, and then, Rei realized, so did a number of other things. Limbs, or rather parts of limbs, that had been torn completely apart at each digit. Several irregular-shaped lumps followed, larger, rounded all around. She mentally started arranging the pieces and realized they made up a girl. She almost screamed before the second incongruous thing hit her. There was no blood. Wires, metal, and a faint smell of plastic, but that was all. "C'mon, hurry up!"

"..." Rei tried to get it together. ". . . were you in the box?"

"Yeah, I'm in the box!" The robot shouted at her. "I'll be able ta see ya when you get it open." A head with blue hair and empty glass eyes rolled past Rei's foot.

"...we have a problem."


	15. Chapter 14

Rei prodded at the blue-haired head at her feet, noting a number of cut wires and feeling a growing sense of confusion and dread while the female voice continued to come out of her phone. "What do ya mean 'we have a problem'?"

Rei looked around in panic. "Did they ship you in pieces?"

"NO!" There was a very distinct sound of heavy breathing coming from the phone. Which was impossible, or at least simulated. "I was deactivated except for a wifi monitor and input from an algorithm looking for news that there were Persona users in the city!"

Rei growled. "Well, you are now, and I can't carry you when you're like this. Obviously your...whatever we call your brain and soul are still functioning. Can you get another body later?!"

"Turn on your camera," The woman said. "Labrys, by the way."

"Joker," Rei said, turning on the app and getting onto her knees to dig through the remaining packing material. "What am I looking for?"

"...the cylinder, there. That's my processor. It looks like it's still hooked to the power source," Labrys said. Rei found it - it was not quite as big around as the head. Definitely too small to go where a person's brain should be, but looked like it might just fit inside the robot girl's abdomen. Or what was left of it. She picked it up, and managed to fumble through the Meta-Nav's options to get back just as the shouting got loud.

Just behind her, a guard turned the corner. "All right, who made the mess in here? Someone's getting fired."

* * *

Back in the safe area of the Palace, Joker put Labrys, or what was left of her, down. Now that she had a chance to examine it, it was actually almost pretty. The 'Processor' was roughly cylindrical, but it looked more like two metal wheels welded to the top and bottom. The sides had some kind of blue, glowing substance that pulsed gently, almost organically. There was a single window on the side, showing a blue crystal cut into ultra-fine filaments like a feather. On the back side were a few batteries taped to a cell phone, with a USB cable leading from the phone to a printed circuit board that had been attached to the top of the mechanism with zip ties. "Guys….I'm not a tech gal. I know they're doing some amazing stuff, but . . . can they make a computer that's self-aware enough to maybe have a Persona?"

"No," Queen said. "Dammit, we've been scammed."

Labrys huffed. "I ain't just a computer! Look...a lotta this stuff ain't what you'd call public. Ya ever heard of the Kirijo Group?"

"Some kind of sciencey stuff. They sponsor all sorts of things." Panther said.

Queen quieted down. "...Now that you mention it, they're way more than that. Some kind of think tank attached to the Kirijo Corporation. They hold all kinds of technology patents that they license out to the bigger companies."

"That ain't all," Labrys said. "They been researching Personas a _long_ time. At least since the 90s. I'm...well, I'm the first real result when they figured they needed a way to fight Shadows."

"Wait, so you're...what?" Joker asked, starting to get frustrated. "What's your angle?"

Labrys made a sound like air blowing between her teeth. "I just wanna find out what's going on for my boss, but that's gonna be a lot harder without my original body."

Joker started to pace, then she pulled out her thermos and downed the coffee. "All right. I guess we can't just leave you in a Palace, but once we're back in the real world your boss had better be able to send you a new robot to put you in."

"That's...gonna be a problem," Labrys admitted.

Joker groaned. "Well, I have no idea how to make you one."

Labrys thought about it. "I have money. If we have the internet, I might be able to figure out something. I just need hands to put it together. Won't be my old body, but I can at least do Navi duty for your group. You don't look like you have someone like Fuuka around."

Angel sighed. "We definitely need that. This Palace is _huge_."

Queen nodded. "I agree."

"I can help you avoid patrols on your way out for today." Labrys said. "My Processor's too delicate to survive a fight with this jury-rigged setup."

Joker nodded. "Let's go."

* * *

As Labrys had promised, the Palace escape went off without any further hitches. Rei and Morgana stumbled up the stairs and into her bedroom, where Rei put Labrys up on the shelf. "Ugh, never figured this year I'd have roommates." She gave Labrys a look. "...you have a camera on that thing?" she asked. Morgana silently padded into his own shelter, knowing what was coming.

"...I can see outta the window, sorta." Labrys said. "Kinda not what I was expecting." Rei pointedly reached out and turned her around to face the wall. "Hey!"

" _Not_ while I'm changing." Rei growled.

Morgana poked his head out just far enough to be heard. "She's going to find out anyway."

Rei sighed. "And I'm going to tell her why she's not seeing me change, but that doesn't change the fact that she's _not_ seeing it."

"Not seeing what? Ya got a Shadow under that shirt?" Labrys said, joking.

Rei sighed. "No...I'm a transgirl." She walked over to the dresser, throwing her stuff in the clothes hamper as she went by.

Rei was just pulling on her nightgown when Labrys responded. "Yeah, I can relate." Rei turned her back around, a curious expression on her face suddenly. "My old body had a camouflage mechanism...and my computer parts kinda wigged out for...reasons. I thought I was human, but I can't say it quite felt right."

Rei thought about it. "I guess you kind of can, but you just had to turn your systems off, no?"

"Actually," Labrys said. "It's bein' a robot that don't quite feel right."

Rei winced. "And what's coming isn't going to help with that. I can't make anything _that_ sophisticated. We'll be lucky to get you mounted on one of those vacuuming robots."

Labrys laughed. "I think we can do better than _that_ , working together. You might even learn something."

* * *

Rei wasn't even surprised anymore to find herself in the Velvet Room. "Yeah, yeah, Labrys is a treat. I couldn't just leave her there," she snapped. Caroline's baton swung into the bars of her door. Rei didn't even flinch. "There's only so often you can do that before I stop jumping," she deadpanned. Then she started taking off her shirt. "Okay, okay, let's get this over with."

Igor's response was in the tone of annoyance that could only come from someone who was _not_ accustomed to interruptions of any sort. "Congratulations on an unexpected boon," he said. "I admit your response was daring, and well worthy of a Trickster,"

Rei sighed. "You're just going to ignore me. Fine." She looked to Justine, who was almost horrified. "Get the needle ready. I still need to figure out how to gracefully back out of Haru-chan's offer to hang out."

Justine coughed. "Is this really the time to be thinking about that?"

"Well, I'm not getting any time while I'm _awake_ and you people are taking away my subconscious time," Rei said with a dark mutter. She held her arm out through the bars.

Caroline frowned, but gently took Rei's hand. "Are you certain you don't want the restraints?"

"I _want_ to get back to sleep," Rei sighed. "Lay it on me." Justine inserted the needle, and the world before Rei's eyes swam as she fell back into her cell, thankful for the padded floor as her head hit it. "Ugh…"

After another indeterminate time, Rei sat up, noting the room was now only spinning in three dimensions. "Ugh...I do feel a bit stronger than last time…" She held out her hand. The image of the Pixie was now perfect. "Hey, neat!" Then her eyes opened. "Wait, what? I feel...more."

Justine was positively beaming at her. "See, you can do it. Focus." Rei closed her eyes, and a shape like a snowman appeared, although the details were indistinct and it was moving somewhat strangely. "There should be more, as well. These are the least of your true powers."

Rei closed her eyes. "Right...I know what I need." And she began to meditate, feeling for the powers she wanted. It was difficult work, far moreso than she'd anticipated. Caroline's voice cut through her concentration. "You need to hold the exact form you want Adler's mind to take. The power follows the form." She concentrated on her friends - Ann's fire and grace, Ryuji's speed and strength, Makoto's skill and clear head, Shiho's fury and sense of right and wrong, Morgana's innocent determination...and Labrys.

She tried to hold it all at once, but she found she couldn't manage it. One trait would slip away for each one she thought she grasped, and in the end the limits of her comprehension left her gasping, with a pounding headache. She thought she could hear a voice, distantly, but couldn't tell if it was her imagination. When she finally had enough energy to concentrate, though, she realized something had changed. Adler was stronger, and a powerful healing spell drifted through her mind. There were other abilities as well, not everything she wanted, but enough. "...right. Can you send me back to the real world now?"

Igor smiled. "You're dissatisfied with the result. Please me, and I might see my way to gifting you with greater control."

"...We'll see," Rei replied uncomfortably. "For now, half a night's sleep will be good enough."

* * *

"REI!" Labrys was screaming at her. "Rei! Wake up!"

Morgana's head poked out of his own bed. "What? What is it?"

"Someone's tryin' ta break in!" Labyrs was nearly in a panic.

Rei froze, starting to breathe deeply. _Kamoshida!? No way!_ She stood up and leaned out of the window. "Oh...ugh. Labrys, that's just the Chief." Which it was, at the door, struggling with the lock.

Labrys' vessel pulsed. "What?"

Rei groaned. "I forgot. I live over the restaurant. He's my guardian, but he's got to make the food and that means coming in early." She glanced at the clock. "It is a _bit_ too early, but. . . well, I gotta bake something for the day anyway. Please _be quiet._ " She stumbled down the stairs after tying a yukata around her frame.

Soujiro had finally the door open as Rei came down. "Hey, you got your girlfriend with you?"

"Phone game," Rei said, brushing it off. "Thought I turned it off last night." She changed the subject "You're in early."

"Just needed to make some curry," Soujiro said, equally dismissively. "None of your business why."

Rei's phone beeped. She ignored it. "Oh...well, too late to go back to sleep. I'll shower and let you get on that. Let's try some eclairs?"

"Whatever," Sojiro said to her.

* * *

Rei was never quite certain how she'd made it to school. She was hopped up on so much of her guardian's coffee that her hands were shaking, and yet at the same time she felt like she'd run all the way from Yongenjaya to Aoyama-Ichitome. By the time her train had stopped in Shibuya for the transfer she finally had to silence her phone completely, as Labrys was constructing a shopping list and sending it over piecemeal.

And, just for fun, she had burned the eclairs.

She slumped into her seat, looking more exhausted than Kawakami-sensei did as the roll was taken and the school gates locked. A bit of her longer hair brushed up against her nose as she realized it had come loose from the pins and she quickly tucked it back into place. Ann looked over her shoulder. "Rough night?"

"Dreamed about the hospital again," Rei said, which seemed safe enough. "I'm going to need to take care of our new friend for the next couple of days, it looks like. We won't even be able to try to go back until I've got that settled, between her and the cat."

"So lucky, you have a girl living in your room?" Rei jumped at that voice. It was the boy she had yanked out of the gym when Kamoshida had tried to kill him during the volleyball rally. _Mashima, Machina...Mishima, that's right._

Ann saved her from the annoyed reply. "Obviously not, There's a guest room, right?"

"Exactly," Rei said. "Mishima-san, please do not jump to conclusions."

Mishima blinked. "Oh...uh, right. There's this girl hanging around Shibuya...do you have a sister?" he asked.

Rei felt her annoyance grow as she suddenly knew where this was going. "Rei-chan is my cousin, not my sister. Also, she is not interested in boys." Patently untrue, but Rei figured Mishima wouldn't know that.

"Oh...right, sorry," Mishima muttered, starting to wander toward his seat.

Ann lowered her voice. "Cousin?"

Rei put her head on the desk. "Needed an explanation for Haru-chan, remember? I could have done better with more than twenty seconds to think."

Ann rolled her eyes. "How long do you think _that_ will hold up?"

"I know, I know, okay?" Rei said. "But apparently she's not allowed to hang out with 'boys' anyway."

Ann giggled. "Well, good thing you only count at school, then. When do you think we'll be able to work again?"

Rei considered. "I can't break my date tonight, but I can shop for whatever Labrys wants after school. Call it. . . I dunno, two or three days?"

* * *

Rei was the first to arrive this time, or so she thought. She had just barely had time to recheck her makeup when Haru came through the door, bearing two sodas. "Oh, you came!"

Rei grinned. "Of course, Haru-chan. I wouldn't miss a chance to hang out." She stood up. "How much do I owe?"

"Nonsense." Haru said, putting the tray down. "Even if you insist it should be paid...and I agree...they won't take my money and I invited you." Her smile dimmed a little. "The truth is, I needed a day away from my fiance."

Rei thought about that, then grinned. "Sure. Doesn't matter how madly in love with the boy you are, sometimes you need space. So, what do you want to do instead?"

"I don't know." Haru admitted. "What would you do?"

Rei thought about it. "Well, if my schedule weren't so hectic, probably be at Disneyland every day."

Haru's eyes widened. "You can afford tickets?"

"I can afford an annual pass," Rei clairified. "And...well, I'm not exactly welcome in any clubs at my school, studying can only take up so much time, and I wasn't expecting to make a friend."

"Still…" Haru said, looking a little stunned. "Every day…."

Rei grinned. "I could spend a whole afternoon just in the castle," she admitted. "I know it's silly, but I love those old movies. A princess, a castle, a happy ending. Gimmie that over this stupid life any day." By the end of the admission, she was blushing horribly even though her makeup.

Haru giggled. "Well, being a princess may not be how you're imagining it…"

Rei thought about it, and then pulled out her phone. "You mind? I need to check on something." Haru nodded.

Rei quickly sent out a text. _Labrys, do you have that parts list finished?_

 _It's harder than I thought,_ came the reply. _A lotta this stuff is off the shelf, but it's like there's a cottage industry in customizing battle androids or something. It'd go faster if you could help._

 _I told you, I don't have the first clue about this stuff._ Rei responded, then decided that was rude. _Are you good for a few days? I really don't want to just leave you on the shelf, but something came up with someone who doesn't know about things._

Labrys took longer about replying than Rei liked. _Rei, if ya need a day, take it. If I have ta I can shut down. Don't worry, it's. . . mostly like bein' asleep, except I can keep it up for a few days without even a maintenance cycle._

Rei swallowed. _Send me what you've got. I'll try to find it._ She looked up at Haru. "Sorry...I agreed to pick up something for a friend. No Disney today."

"Nonsense." Haru said. "I'll have it delivered to your place."

Rei's jaw dropped. "No way. A soda's one thing - "

Haru giggled. "I'll have to ask you to _pay_ for it, but I do have a shopping service that can find almost anything I want."

Rei thought about it. "Nnno. By the time we get out there it'll probably be packed for the night. We should pick a weekend or something. Get out early, make a day of it."

Haru smiled. "That sounds lovely. I'm looking forward to seeing what has you so interested…"

Rei chuckled nervously. "...uhm...honestly, it's mostly just that I love the old cartoons, you know?"

"I see….so you're interested in being my friend because I remind you of a princess, then?" Haru half-teased.

Rei gulped. "Maybe a little? I mean, I guess there's people who'd call you that, but that's not what I mean, I mean, uhh…"

Haru smiled. "It's fine." She looked at her watch. "If you like, we could see a movie. I believe you would have enough time for your shopping."

Rei returned the smile weakly. "Uhm...sure, that sounds good."

* * *

The theater was in Shinjuku. After being dropped off by the driver, a rather novel experience, Rei started walking towards the ticket booth. Haru giggled. "No, silly. I have tickets." She waved a QR code on her phone. "Come on."

Rei chuckled. "Okay, I'll bite. What movie are we seeing?" She grinned. "Anything but that 'Black Devil and White Prince' one."

Haru gave her a smile. "I'd have thought you would enjoy a good romance."

"I prefer a little action to liven things up, is all," Rei explained. "Besides, I'd rather see it with a boyfriend or girlfri..." she suddenly trailed off, blushing.

Haru's eyes widened slightly. "Uh...Rei-san…"

Rei sighed. "It isn't really a secret. I'm bi…" then she gulped, remembering the conversation with Mishima on the topic. "But if anyone asks, I'm either gay or you don't know." Haru blushed even harder. "Erm...I know that sounds backwards, but Ren said a guy from his school was acting stupid about me. After…"

"Quite understandable," Haru said quietly. "And I'm glad you're willing to take me into your confidence. I will inform my father and fiance that your homosexuality is an act after your recent trauma, if they ask." Rei blinked. "They...might not appreciate me spending time with someone who may be a romantic partner. Besides, it's true. Being _exclusively_ interested in girls is an act, no?"

Rei giggled. "I guess it is. Thanks." She glanced around. "We should get into the movie." Both girls ventured into the theater, Rei failing to note the sign in blood-red letters above the door as the lights were already turning down...

* * *

"Oh, Rei-chan, _I'm sorry._ " Haru was utterly distraught. It wasn't hard to see why. Haru had been eagerly watching the film when she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. Rei was almost impossibly curled up in the seat, her knees pressed tightly against her chest with her thin arms curled up around them enough to be placed tightly over her ears. And she hadn't moved until the movie had ended. In fact, she hadn't moved _since_ the movie had ended, since Haru had been unable to convince her that the movie was over when the janitors started to come in to clean up between showings. It wasn't very difficult to pull Rei out of her seat and down the stairs, she was so stiff.

The light of the setting sun finally got through to her that something had changed. Rei opened one eye, and then the other, before realizing where she was. A lesser athlete would have jumped and sent them both tumbling. Instead, Rei blushed heavily. "Uhm...sorry...you can put me down." Haru very carefully set Rei on her feet, and the younger girl uncurled herself easily.

Haru bit her lip. "Rei-chan, why didn't you tell me you don't like scary movies?"

"I...didn't think you would." Rei admitted. "I should know better than to make assumptions about princesses, huh?"

Haru blinked. "Why would that be?"

Rei gulped. "Uh...no reason." Still blushing, she swallowed and continued. "Haru-chan, I _am_ glad I spent the day with you. I mean, the movie wasn't to my taste, but…"

"Why did you stay?" Haru asked, serious.

Rei blushed even more. "I didn't want you thinking I was being rude, or having to leave the theater."

Haru shook her head. "Nonsense. I was being thoughtless. I know you've been through...a lot."

"...yeah."

* * *

Rei's embarrassment didn't abate in the slightest as she made the turn onto the street of Akihabara. She glanced around at all the various advertisements aimed at otaku with a bit of distaste, before looking down at her phone. _You're sure there's nowhere else?_ she texted to Labrys.

 _Nowhere nearby._ came the reply. _Sorry, Rei, but the same types of people who like that stuff are the ones who are into what we need. If we don't get it here, I need to have it shipped and there's a limit before your guardian starts asking questions._

Rei took a deep breath. _Okay, Labrys. What's the first item?_ She took the part number and started down the street. She found herself blushing heavily at a pair of life-sized statues with...generous feminine proportions in maid outfits with blank, thoughtless expressions and glassy eyes. One was made to be human looking, the other was more obviously inspired by the animated women surrounding her. The overall effect made Rei shudder, but she had to go into the building and through it, up to the third floor to buy the part in question, a pair of spidery metal claws. She took it up to the boy at the counter, putting it down. "How much?"

"Nine thousand yen," he said, before looking up. "Uhm, miss, I really shouldn't…"

Rei sighed. Then she pulled out the cash. "Don't look at me. It's for my girlfriend, some kind of science project." That sounded innocent enough to her ears, but the boy's jaw dropped open. He quietly took the money and bagged the toy. "Uhm…" But Rei was gone, on to the next shop where the scene repeated. Again and again.

After the fifth stop, and almost an hour into the quest, Rei realized that she had most of a robotic endoskeleton. She sighed as an ad for male sex toys popped up on her phone. _Labrys, since you're hacked in anyway, can you do a factory reset on the phone when I get home? Last thing I need is a teacher seeing_ these _ads._

 _You got it, Boss._ Labrys replied. _Oh, Morgana's home._

 _Just as well. I don't want him seeing this. Next part?_

The next few parts were all circuit boards, apparently some kind of controller for the various bits she'd picked up, although they needed a more powerful computer to tell them _how_ to move. _Labrys, you sure I can do this_?

 _Should mostly be plug and play,_ Labrys confirmed. _I can't believe I was able ta get most of this off the shelf. No weapons systems, but I'll be able ta walk around and look human. Just gonna need the skin and some padding. I got a head of hair ordered already, should be here tomorrow._

Rei thought about that. _Where are we going to pick those things up_?

Labrys' reply took a little longer than Rei was comfortable with, holding all this stuff in shopping bags. _Uh...got a line on something but...sorry._

Rei gulped. _Labrys, what did you do?_

 _Ah didn't know!_ Labrys' response was quick. _It looks like Mitsuru-san_ did _kinda lend out some of the anti-Shadow-weapon tech….and...uh...someone made…_

Rei was just leaving the building, and her attention turned to the two 'statues'. Which, Rei saw now, weren't statues at all. They were robots. Humanoid robots, designed for…

Everyone in the district turned to stare at the high school girl who had just screamed in mortification.

* * *

"A _sex robot_?" Rei hissed. "Labrys-chan, you want me to build you a sex toy for a body?"

Labrys's voice went dissonant. _"SORRY!_ " The distortion quickly faded. "Rei-chan, it's all the part numbers Kirijo gave me! I didn't know!"

Rei groaned, collapsing on the bed. "Labrys-chan, this is _incredibly_ awkward. I mean, I can't hide this much stuff for long, and I was already going to have problems explaining it, but . . . "

"We're going to have to find some place to put it together." Morgana said. "I don't get what this is about…"

Rei sighed. "I guess...I guess it makes sense. They look almost life-like. With the right software, no one's likely to notice the difference."

"Plus it'll be easier on my stealth system" Labrys said. "It's built into the processor. Luckily, this is all stuff that can be put together by a complete idiot. It's just the software that's hard, and I _am_ the software."

Rei groaned. "I'm going to have to pull an all-nighter, aren't I? So glad it's Saturday…"

* * *

The process was, indeed, _mostly_ plug and play. Pretty much every electronic connection had been replaced with USB connectors between major parts, and while the connections between the endoskeleton and the 'muscles' demanded some soldering, it wasn't delicate work. By midnight, Rei had what she deemed to likely be a functional human arm. "Okay...now, from what I see we hook this thing up to this controller here…" She plugged the two together. "And then normally the controller would go to a larger computer. I don't see that, so I'm guessing there's a plug somewhere on you?"

"Right," Labrys confirmed. "That's what you need the flat cable for. Careful, now."

Rei picked the whole assembly up and put it on the shelf next to Labrys, finding the place that the ribbon cable plugged in after a moment. "Okay...I'm putting it in the first bank...now."

There was a long stream of gibberish from the speaker of her phone, before Labrys finally spoke up. "Oh, wow! I can feel my arm! Actually….wow...I can feel a whole lotta my arm...uhm...there ain't sensors for all this...it's actually kinda weird."

Morgana grinned, stepping out of his alcove. "Hey, you should try touching it!"

Rei considered that for a moment. "You game?"

"Sure!" Rei took the reply as consent and gently stroked a finger down the length of the limb. Labrys started making some decidedly inappropriate sounds. "Uhm...I think there may be a bug."

It took a few seconds for Labrys to reply. "Yeah, that was some automatic response programming. I'll try ta bypass it." Some electronic sounds followed. "Okay, try again." Rei repeated the gesture. "I got the input but it didn't set off the trigger. I'm gonna try ta move it."

The arm promptly flopped onto the floor, and broke the ribbon cable. Morgana screeched and ran away. "...dang, that's creepy."

Rei groaned. "Dammit. I don't know if we have spares." She rubbed at her eyes. "I can't handle much more of this tonight...and I need to bake for the weekend crowd."

"...I can handle an extra day," Labrys said. "Go on. Ya've done enough today."

"Rei!" Morgana said. "I can't believe you'd leave a lady like this."

"I don't want to!" Rei shouted. "But if I don't sleep she's going to end up with a foot on backwards or something."

* * *

Rei dragged herself out of bed promptly at six in the morning, turned Labrys away from the room to change, took a shower, threw something yeasty and delicious in the oven, set a timer, and then returned upstairs.

"Where _were_ ya?!" Labrys shouted. Rei jumped. "Someone came in here and stole alla my parts!"

"What?!" Rei gasped. "No way." She jumped over to the window. "How did you know?"

"Ya hadn't turned off the wi-fi on most of'em. I tried ta call you but you left your phone up here on mute." Labrys groaned.

Morgana was just crawling out of bed. Rei glared at him. "We've been robbed. Did you see anything?"

"I must have slept through it." Morgana said. "Call a meeting and let me out. I'll go check the neighborhood. They can't have gone far."

* * *

Rei was about to start sending out text messages when the Navigator pulsed on her phone's desktop. "Oh, _now_ what?" She brought up the app...and immediately saw a messaging function had just been added to the update. And, surprisingly, the first message she had been sent was from none other than…

 **Justine:** We have seen that you're trying to evade your school's authorities. **  
Caroline:** To assist you with that, we came up with this thing.  
 **Justine:** Since no one but you and your team can see the Meta-Nav, you can use this securely.  
 **Caroline:** You'd better appreciate it, Patient.

Rei's eyes were practically brimming over with tears.

 **Joker:** Guys...thanks. Seriously.  
 **Caroline:** Just use it wisely!

Rei quickly pulled up a chat with the others.

 **Joker:** Someone just stole Labrys' new body! I can't leave the shop because it'll make Boss suspicious. Can you guys get out to Yongenjaya and look around?  
 **Skull:** Woah! This thing's got chat?!  
 **Angel:** I'm on my way!  
 **Queen:** I can't head out until Sis does or she'll be suspicious.  
 **Panther:** Skull! This is serious!  
 **Skull:** Fucking hell! Just read Joker's first message! Sorry, I'm on it!  
 **Joker:** They can't have gone far. Thanks guys.

"Okay," Rei said. "I have to stay here since Boss can't know about you, but I've got the others on it."

Labrys sat on the shelf silently for awhile. Rei was about to check to make sure she was still functioning when the voice came out, crackling slightly. "Rei, ya don't have ta do all this. I can just get another one. I'm good for it."

"No." The alarm chose that moment to go off. "I've got to go finish the pastries."

* * *

Rei sipped at the coffee listlessly. Chocolate croissants sat stacked up neatly on the dessert tray, while she kept staring at her phone. Sojiro stared at her. "What's so interesting about that phone?"

"Nothing," Rei said honestly. "That's the problem. Waiting for someone to get back to me about something."

There was an awkward silence. "Any other problems at school?" Sojiro finally asked.

Rei put the phone down. "Yes. Of course there are. Kamoshida was a bastard to _everyone._ The rest of the teachers look at me like I'm scum _specifically_ , but they don't dare say anything because they can't _find_ anything. I have to factory reset my phone every day and make a new account every week to pull that trick, and I don't know how long it'll last." She pulled out her pills and downed them in one gulp of coffee. "Oh, and I'm filling out. By September I won't be able to hide these things without hurting myself."

"Woah!" Sojiro said with a laugh, obviously trying to lighten the mood. "Too much info." He shook his head. "You don't have to hang out here. Go on, whatever it is you need to do.."

Rei grinned, sliding out of the stool. She was barely three steps out of the door before she ran into Morgana. He was looking distinctly agitated. "There was definitely a strange smell. A girl came in the front door while you were in the shower, I think."

"Could you track her?" Rei asked, dreading the answer.

Morgana shook his head. "Her scent's all over the place, but faint. Like she lives here, but rarely comes out. And I'm not really a cat. My sense of smell is better than yours, but I'm not a bloodhound."

"...a girl carrying all of the parts to a sex bot out in the open? Someone _has_ to have seen something," Rei concluded. "I'll ask around."

* * *

Shiho and Ann found Rei nursing a bruised cheek. "In retrospect…" Rei said. "I probably shouldn't have pointed out what the suspect was carrying in explicit terms."

"You told them someone stole your robot buddy?" Ann asked incredulously.

Rei shook her head. "No...it turns out some idiot at Kirijo based robots on her body for…" she blushed.

Shiho blushed too. "Oh dear. I mean, I've seen those things but they're . . . "

"Well, she picked out the body and face type herself," Rei said. "I'm pretty sure she'll look way more human than most of them when she's rebuilt...but…"

"No luck, then?" Shiho asked, squeezing Rei's shoulder. "If we've got the money from the last heist, I'll go get more. You don't need to be seen doing that twice." Rei blinked, then smiled and made sure to put her hand on Shiho's

Ann looked between them. "Uhm...Rei, you know?"

"Yep." Rei's smile was weak. "I know, I know, I'm being silly."

Ann giggled. "I used to do the same thing. It's stupid, anyway."

"And I appreciate it," Shiho said, pulling back. "But we've got to find her. Someone might try to blackmail us over this."

* * *

The search extended on into the late morning, then the early afternoon after quick lunches for everyone. Ryuji sighed, sitting down. "Man, I don't think we're gonna find anything."

"I know." Rei sighed. "I have so few friends. I lose them pretty regularly, but this is the first time it's been _literal._ "

"Hey, don't talk like that." Ryuji grinned. "We didn't walk out on ya. It's cuz of. . . " Rei nodded glumly, sticking a croissant in her mouth to stifle whatever else she was gonna say. "Way I see it, a good way to find out who _my_ friends are would be to call myself 'Rise' and put on the girliest dress I could find for a few days."

Rei snorted. "Yeah, if you need a loyalty test that might just work until you stopped. They'd probably be mad for lying."

Ryuji chuckled in reply. "Probably. It'd be an asshole move, but sometimes you just gotta do that, huh?"

"Less often than it seems like," Rei said. "But...I guess it happens." She stretched. "Maybe we're going about this wrong? What kind of girl wants a sex bot so bad she sees someone bringing one home in the dead of night and steals it?"

"Morgana was sure it was a girl?"

Rei nodded. "Only extra scent in my room, and if it were Chief he'd have chewed me out."

Ryuji made a thoughtful sound. "You sure you wanna be asking me this. Makoto's the smart one."

Rei grinned. "Don't sell yourself short. You got into Shujin to begin with, your grades couldn't have started that bad." Ryuji gave her a look. "I know, I know, track scholarship, but they wouldn't have taken you if your grades weren't acceptable. Hell, _officially_ that's why I got in - high grades for the future doctor."

"Maybe." Ryuji said skeptically. "Well...obviously she's gay. But...well, what good is one of those bots to a...what was the word, cisgirl?"

"Yes." Rei said. "See, you can get it." She giggled at the face he made, but went on. "Maybe it's not the sex angle, but the bot angle. She wanted...what, to program it to do chores?"

"Huh...geek chick?" Ryuji said. "Guess that would explain why she doesn't go out."

"...then the best thing to do is to wait until after dark." Rei decided. "We can probably find the culprit by the monitor glow in her windows."

* * *

While Rei was waiting, she realized there was something else that needed doing. "Makoto-chan," she said when she next saw the girl. "Find anything?"

"No." Makoto stopped and gave her an odd look. "Rei...chan?"

Rei grinned. "I'll use 'sempai' at school," she said in a conciliatory tone. "I did already talk to our new friend about things. She . . . doesn't seem to know much. Wrong place, wrong time."

Makoto gave Rei an exasperated look. "So that whole trip was for _nothing?_ "

Rei winced. "Not nothing. We rescued someone from being trapped in a crate, possibly for years."

"...okay, point." Makoto said. "I just meant...I was hoping to put this side show behind us."

Rei did not smack her forehead. Nor did she scream, curse, break down in tears, or spontaneously manifest Adler in the real world. She was tempted to do all these things. "Makoto-chan, is there something specific about this target bothering you?"

Makoto nodded. "Those donations. Cultural preservation, support for the poor...I even dug deeper on that." Rei nodded for her to continue. "He gave a lot of money to Tokyo University's medical research. Did you know he even gave money to _your_ program? A _lot_ of money? You owe Keino for access to your hormones. Without him, the program would have been shut down and you'd have had to wait even longer."

"...why?"

Makoto shook her head. "There was no ulterior motive I could find, other than the obvious. And...well, no offense, but transgender rights isn't exactly a high priority right now. He could have picked a dozen other programs with higher visibility, but he said that one in particular was about 'ensuring at-risk youth don't turn to immoral means.'"

Rei shook her head. "Well, he's got that right. A lot of transwomen do end up going that route, just because hormones and surgery cost. I can afford it, but a lot of the other girls...not so much."

Makoto gave her a small smile. "See? This doesn't add up. He can't be an entirely bad person."

"...you clearly don't have to be a cackling evil monster to have a Palace," Rei pointed out. "Kamoshida had all sorts of self justifications for what he did."

"...okay, I'll concede that." Makoto said after a long moment. "And pointing that out, you _do_ have me curious."

"Good." Rei said. Then she explained Ryuji's theory. "So, make ourselves scarce, check tonight?"

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

Rei needed answers. With a few hours before it was time to resume the search, she knew just where to go.

"Rei, your appointment isn't until - " Saito said surprised, right up until Rei was hugging him. "Rei-chan?"

"Sensei," Rei mumbled. "I don't know what to do."

Saito nodded. "Do you want me to fire up the office?"

Rei considered telling him not to. The various effects could be distracting as heck. But she thought back to countless hours, talking about . . . well, everything. The man was one part doctor, two parts therapist, and one part family to her at this point. All with the zapping and bubbling and glowing of a mad scientist. "...yes, please."

And just like that, she was a little kid again. He'd even managed to scrounge up the sweet milk tea she had liked. She sniffled heavily for a little while. "I'm...I'm sorry, this isn't even what I came here for. And….and on a Saturday."

"Don't worry about that. There's little enough for me at home these days." Saito's voice was gentle. "And you are, after all, my life's work." Rei's lips quirked up. "Now, I haven't seen you this distraught since...well, I was going to say Aoi but I don't think even that set you off this much. Is it about..."

Rei shook her head. "Yes."

"..which is it?"

Rei sighed. "Not him, but. . . my friends. The ones I told you about."

"They rescued you...you've certainly picked up an eclectic collection of them. And so quickly." Saito said, trailing off into thought.

Rei sighed. "Shared trauma, I guess. We all had something to deal with with Kamoshida...but...well..." There was no avoiding this now. Even though she'd come here to try to ask about it, now she was strangely reluctant. What would it change? "There's a man on the donor list for the project. Keino...something?" She decided it wouldn't do to seem too informed.

Saito nodded. "I know the man. It's odd. He's one of the men who has given the most to us over the years, and he invites me to fewer charity functions and so on than many of our contributors. He was even interested in your case when things got. . . messy. He was worried you'd derail the study. I managed to convince the board otherwise with his help."

Rei felt her stomach drop. She might even owe her continued freedom, in part, to this man. "Yes. Makoto-chan brought it up." She took a deep breath. "...and Shiho-chan thinks he's...trying to get his workers killed."

Saito's face went grim. "How does she know that? And why would he?"

Rei swallowed. She'd sworn not to tell anyone about Shiho's secret, but she knew Saito was also sworn to keep such things in confidence. "Burakumin. He hires burakumin to work at the worst of his import businesses, so he can bribe the inspectors to ignore safety violations." Only once the words were out of her mouth did she realize how implausible that sounded. "According to Shiho-chan. She and Makoto-chan are having a huge fight over it."

"...as motives go, that almost makes sense.." Saito said, grimly. "If it's true. . . well, it would put us in trouble. But do you have any proof, or is this just a teenage girl's imagination?"

 _...if I tell him, I'll have to explain how I know. That won't end well._ Rei's mind was racing. But there wasn't anything else to add. "You've spoken with him. Does he seem the type? Has he ever brought it up?"

"So...you don't." Saito sighed in relief. "Rei-chan, it would be improper of me to reveal such things. . . if he'd ever brought such up. His belief is in a better future for Japan. He makes contributions to many causes that he thinks will advance that goal. I admit, his focus on cultural preservation is a bit illogical in light of that, but he's not. . . not evil in the way you're suggesting." He smiled. "You can take that to your friend."

"Thanks, Sensei." Rei said. "I...that does make me feel better." _At least I have more dots to connect now._

* * *

Morgana ran up to Rei just as she was returning to Yongenjaya. "C'mon, we found something." He led her to the last place she expected. It was the small yard outside Sojiro's house. Someone had wrapped up a nearly human-sized bundle in old tatami mats, with a note.

 _Ugh. I just couldn't stand watching you flounder with this thing anymore. I did all the hard parts, so show me something interesting already._

 _\- Ali Baba._

Rei quickly pulled out her phone and messaged the others. Le Blanc was closed, so she just texted the others to come over and returned to her room. The first thing she did was sweep for microphones and cameras. She almost missed it, but then she realized the security camera outside her window could _just_ peek in on the workbench area. Rei made a quick adjustment to ensure her privacy was secured, then got to work.

By the time they had arrived, Rei had Labrys' new body standing up in a short yukata, draped over her front for modesty while she worked from the open back. Her face was a dead mask of silicone rubber, with a dark blue head of hair that contrasted with the almost silver white her old body had been using, only falling to mid back and styled into a tighter ponytail. A long set of wires spilled out of her back from somewhere higher up. "Okay, Labrys, I'm gonna make the connections for a test run. Ready?"

" _More_ than ready. I'm gettin' tired of being an ornament, ya know?" the voice said back.

Rei shoved the cables together, unable to resist a cackle of "It's aliiiiiive"

Labrys' eyes opened. They glowed bright red.

Taken together with Rei's mad scientist routine, everyone else took an involuntary step back. Labrys' full lips turned up in a smile that would have been seductive if not for the glowing red eyes and lack of attendant movement in other facial 'muscles'. "Anti-Shadow Suppression System Labrys. Pleased ta meetcha."

Ryuji's voice hitched. "You ain't gonna kill us all, are you?! I'm too young to die!"

"Ryuji..." everyone else said, exasperated. Ann grinned. "Gotcha some clothes. Figured Rei wouldn't have anything around in robot sizes."

"Not just yet." Rei said. "I've still got to put this thing in all the way. Labrys, all systems good to go?"

Labrys stopped. "All green except the stealth systems. The core's gotta be loaded before I can test that properly."

Shiho grabbed Ryuji by the shoulders and gently turned him around when Rei opened the yukata wider and started wrapping wires as Labrys instructed around her core body cavity before slipping it into place and securing it with some small bolts. Rei zipped her up, then frowned at the seam in Labrys' back. "...how can anyone find this sexy?" It was a legitimate, if somewhat obvious question. While the attempt to look human had been valiant, and Labrys' part choices meant that she wasn't unrealistically proportioned, no one could confuse the results with flesh and blood.

"I dunno. I wasn't meant to be sexy, just human enough ta talk to people." Labrys nearly shrugged before realizing what that would do to her only cover at the moment. "Right...stealth system scanning…." They waited there for a moment, and then she smiled. "Looks like it should work. Activating now." The flash of light was blinding. When Rei could see again, she hastily moved her eyes up. The effect was startling. Labrys' face was now moving much more normally, and the texture of her skin had changed. All of it. Her movement, too precise moments ago, was now fluid and full of subconscious reactions that had been missing. And her eyes had turned from a glowing red to a more normal, or at least natural-looking color.

"...that is too disturbing." Makoto decided.

* * *

 _A/N: First, the good news - in celebration of Transgender Visibility Day, I decided to post this a day early! I would have put it up tomorrow morning, but as it stands I felt I really shouldn't wait._

 _Next, the bad news - I'll be putting off next month's chapter due to a combination of COVID-related factors in my life (Guess who's on the Essential Worker list), and the release of Persona 5 Royal. My efforts to play the JP version with the assistance of Google Translate fell through, so I'm stuck doing it with the rest of the world outside Japan. And it may have pretty heavy implications for Masks, so I'd like to finish out at least the first two semesters and edit the story up to this point. I don't anticipate total rewrites, at least. So, with any luck, next chapter should be up June 3rd, if not sooner._


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